Love Hina: Nijuuhachi hi ato
by Turbanator
Summary: 28 Days Later Love Hina A virus, so potent in its ability to turn man against himself, has been let loose in Tokyo. What is the fate of the Hinatasou residents? Epilogue up... The epic is complete... Who survived the zombie onslaught?
1. Prologue: First Day

**

Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato

**

Prologue

~~~~~~~~~~~

~ First Day ~

~~~~~~~~~~~

Tokyo University

5:32AM

Fall

"This is the lab." One hushed voice spoke out.

"Okay." A rustling of keys and a keyboard being typed was heard in the moonlit basement corridor. "We have access."

"Roger." The first spoke into a radio transmitter on his chest. "Unit-02, any sign of the guards?"

A female reply came back swiftly, but whispering, "Guard One has fallen asleep in the observation booth thanks to doping. Guard Two is around the other side of campus."

"Meet us at basement level C, room 13. We are entering." The man ordered.

"Roger." Came the reply, again quietly. 

Clicking off the radio the man turned to his partner, "Open it."

A small hiss followed by a smooth metallic scraping was heard as the door slid open. It took the men a few moments to adjust to the light in the room, it being focused on several objects there. Walking towards the far end of the room, they saw several glass cases, the cold only let condensation be seen, hiding the moving objects behind them. The shuffling came louder as the men walked by the containers. Finally reaching it, they arrived at a small room. Walking in the only door visible they approached something resembling an operating table and gazed upon what the creature was viewing. 

Blood. Death. Wars. Shooting. Nuclear blasts. Bombs. 

Turning to one another they were bemused by what the images were about. They followed heart monitors and their cables down towards the yellow skinned, green shelled turtle that sat there, latched to the table being forced to watch these viewscreens. 

"What the…" Said another person. 

The men turned to the door to see a white coat against the bleak surroundings running to a wall where a phone was hanging. They ran to him. 

"Security, we have a breach in Sector C-13 request backup and immediate containment team…" The phone was hung up by one of the men. 

The scientist swallowed hard, "I know who you are."

"The Japanese Animal Liberation Movement." The second man confirmed.

"Well, I know your intentions, but you cannot free these animals!" He shouted, trying in vain to get the attention of a guard. 

"Why not?" Asked the first man, "Why is that turtle watching such horrid images?"

The scientist was continuing to mumble on, "… so in order to find a cure, you need suitable subjects to test…"

The first man shook him hard, slamming him against the wall, "Look, I asked you a question. What is wrong with these animals?!"

The white-coated man paled slightly, "They're infected."

"Infected?" Said a woman, one of the two from Unit-02, "Infected with what?"

The scientist swallowed again, "Rage. Pure unadulterated rage. From the moment they hear a voice, they will do all in their power to kill that person. They think of nothing else…"

"Nonsense!" The second man said, "I've never heard anything so insane in my life!"

"Your guys hold him while I release them." The woman said, walking to the nearest cage around the corner.

"No! You don't understand, they'll kill us all!" The men held him back, but he was desperate to stop her. 

Removing a chain cutter from her backpack, she sliced through the locks holding the door shut, and swung it wide open. She smiled seeing the cute little turtle looking at her. 

"Hi there." She said.

The change was immediate; the black eyes now turned blood red, its mouth opening to reveal decaying fangs, as if it had been eating raw flesh constantly. It flew straight at the woman, shocking her backwards a little, but too late to stop it from biting into her neck.

"YAAAAH!" Her scream pierced the walls of the room.

"Etsuko?! What's wrong?!" Cried the man in her unit, running to her side only to see her throwing down a dead turtle, its neck snapped. She was having some sort of fit, going through convulsions constantly. 

He held her, "Calm down, it's okay now." He smiled, only to recoil in disgust as she vomited blood into his face. "AAAAAH! You got blood on me!"

"What's going on over there?!" The leader shouted, releasing the grip on the scientist, now moving with urgency to a nearby table. "Where are you going?" The leader shouted.

"They're changing! It spreads by blood!" He shouted, rounding the corner, the chair raised above his head, "We have to kill them now or…"

A pair of red eyes focused on him and the woman formerly known as Etsuko made a high pitched scream and launched at him, with deadly accuracy, ripping into his chest. As she began biting him, her team-mate was also convulsing behind her, opening his eyes to stare at the leader who gazed at the scene in utter horror, knowing that he had just unleashed something evil before his vision became red with blood.

-------------

**

Author's Notes

**

Well, this is just a prologue, so no Love Hina characters as yet (no, none of those in the intro were from the series). 

This will be a big risk for me, and I stake my reputation as a pseudo-romance writer from my other main fic to write this. It will be dark, given the allusion that the movie itself wasn't exactly a comedy, and there will be some canon characters dying (or dead). I had this inspiration just today whilst doing my project work, and as Book III will take time to come out (I'm not writing it, and it will remain unwritten for a while), this should be a useful in-between story. 

In case you haven't seen the movie or noticed by now, this is a take of the British movie, 28 Days Later (translated in Japanese for the title for this fic), in the Love Hina universe. So far, nothing major has been changed from that nightmare inducing first scene, but I placed it in a Toudai laboratory, and the chimps for the turtles. As time goes on, the story will change.

Please don't kill me for this.

- Jason


	2. 28 Days Later

**

Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato

Chapter 01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~ 28 Days Later ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A hospital room

**

An increase in heart rate. Acceleration of brain functions. Respiratory functions working harder to accommodate greater demands for fresh oxygen.

Slowly, a pair of eyelids opened a crack. They scanned the room for any activity, reflecting the confusion in the man's face as he couldn't see anything. Angling his head he noticed a side table. Trying to reach it he stretched out his left hand but could not due to resistance. Feeling his arm he felt lots of tubes there, and he finally sat up awkwardly. His left leg was still wrapped up in a cast. Unhitching the contraption to keep his leg raised, he lowered it down and picked up the two crutches near his bed. Another thing shook him. Silence, unearthly silence. Pulling out the various needles and tubes that were connected to him, pumping long emptied IV bags, he winced as he removed one wrongly. Shaking a little from the pain he picked up his glasses on the side table. Looking around more he found more of his things, but no clothing, so he was stuck with the hospital gown he had on. He then tried opening the door to no avail. It would not slide open. He was about to kick it before he noticed a key there on the floor. On instinct he picked it up and placed it in the keyhole, unlocking it with a sharp click. He slid the door open and coughed as some dust from lack of use flooded his nose. 

Empty. Searching around the bare hospital Keitaro felt lonely. Searching the rooms surrounding his he found bandages with which to wrap his bleeding arm in. Going downstairs he tried to use the telephones but they were not working, not even a dialtone could be heard through the receiver. 

"Hello?" He shouted, to which no one replied. 

Walking to the entrance and seeing some personal effect of people, he picked up a rucksack and then picked up large wads of yen bound in elastic bands. Some vending machines were there also, forced open using a crowbar from what he could tell by the scrape marks on the side. Stuffing lots of chocolates, crisps and soft drinks into the bag he made his way outside. 

The classic scene from many Western movies played out in front of him. Silence, save for the wind blowing paper and yen trough the streets whistling hauntingly as it did so. Keitaro walked on; he only realised just how long when he checked his watch he found from his hospital room, 3 hours had passed, and not a single soul on the streets of Tokyo. He found no sign of anyone having lived there, cars were abandoned in the middle of roads, money seemed to be everywhere so he chose not to pick it all up. 

The most disturbing of sights was when he passed the Senso temple in the middle of Tokyo City. Pictures and letters were plastered everywhere. Loved ones, sons, daughters, grandparents, fathers, wives, everyone was looking for someone. Going to the wishing boards, he saw hundreds of little plaques with wishes on them. Reading them over he couldn't understand what they meant. 

He had been calling out for people since he left the hospital, and he began to expect no reply. 

"Hello?" He yelled. 

He turned around to leave but heard frantic steps behind him. Looking back with a relieved smile, it melted from his face as he saw this person wasn't there to greet him the same way. The man wore traditional robes associated with the Buddhist priests that prayed at the shrine. What wasn't traditional was the blood and cuts over his body, crimson eyes, irrational movements and the guttural noises of a hunter. Keitaro yelled in fear, falling backwards thanks to his crutches and he shielded his face from the oncoming creature. 

A small explosion and cutting sound and a body falling to the ground was what he heard. Peering out from behind the robes he saw the slumped figure of the man, three large slices across his back. The blood crept towards him. 

"Keep away from the blood Urashima!"

Keitaro looked up to see the glinting edge of a blade and a familiar hakama beneath the darkness of a tree. 

Happy to see her he was truly relieved, smiling. "Motoko-ch..." He stopped as she moved out of the shadows. Her hakama bore cuts; the hem above her ankles was torn badly, not done by natural causes. Her gi around her upper torso was similar. Gone were her long hanging sleeves, ripped off at the shoulders, and instead were tight bandages wrapped around both her arms. She bore a red ribbon around her head, around her forehead over which her bangs fell. She walked to Keitaro.

"I've been looking everywhere for you..." She said quietly. Sheathing her clean katana Keitaro noticed that she now carried two of them. "I was worried when you were not in your room."

"What do you mean?!" Keitaro was beginning to panic, "What is happening? Where is everyone?!"

Motoko picked up his crutches and helped him onto them. "I'll explain on the way..."

**

30 minutes later

**

"So this thing started a month ago?" He asked.

"Yes, around two weeks since you fell into a coma from the shock of the entrance ceremony and your leg breaking at the same time." She confirmed. "It originated from Tokyo, the first cases being reported in the Toudai campus."

"T... Toudai?" Keitaro shuddered. _Hold on, what about... _"Seta-san! What's happened to him?!"

She stared off towards the end of the street, her eyes narrowing slightly, looking off to her sides quickly. Sighing she replied honestly. "I don't know, the last time we visited you was a day after the first case, and since then the area was too dangerous, we weren't allowed back in."

Keitaro nodded, "But still the Infected spread to other cities."

"Yes, no one was safe anymore..." Her lip quivered for a second, although Keitaro noticed this.

"What happened Motoko-chan? Hinata-sou?"

She turned to him, tears now fully visible in her eyes, the occasional one slipping out gently over her ivory cheeks. "Hinata Springs had the first Infected a week ago..." Keitaro took in breath sharply, "In a small town like that it was not long before even Hinata-sou fell under their bloody gaze."

Keitaro was on tenterhooks, "And?" He asked again.

"The others left two days later, I have not heard from them since." She paused for a second, as if hearing something in the teasing wind. "I too was on my way out, the last to leave, but the Infected came for me..." 

"It must have been hard Motoko-chan..." Keitaro could see the agony in her face, and putting a hand on her shoulder he continued. "They were not human anymore, you would have been putting them out of their misery."

She sniffed again, "I understand that, but you only know half of what transpired there." She clenched her fist tighter. "When I reached the bottom of the steps, I saw more bodies of the Infected, cut much in the same way as the way I killed them. Looking down the road, I saw someone who I had not seen since before I came to Hinata-sou."

"Who?" Keitaro wondered.

"My sister..." She replied, "She was fending them off her successfully, but one got too close and as she killed it, some of the blood sprayed onto a cut she had on her hand." Motoko needed a minute to compose herself, "I... I saw her convulse in pain, transforming into one of them..." A tear fell from her eye, "I gasped and she turned to me, her eyes filled with hatred, rage, and murder, she lunged for me, her teeth bared. I could not defend myself, I could never kill my sister..."

Keitaro standing a bit lopsided embraced her in a one-armed hug, "I'm sorry Motoko-chan, I don't want to imagine what you went through. But..." His curiosity was peaked, "If you didn't defend yourself, how are you still alive?"

Motoko, feeling secure in his arms spoke more softly, "She was killed before she got within reach of me. She was trapped by a net thrown from behind, I turned my eyes away and heard her being ripped apart by the steel wires."

Keitaro was shocked, "Who threw the net?!"

Motoko pulled back to face him in the eyes, "Her husband, Shin."

**

Five days ago

Hinata Springs

**

"Are you okay Motoko-chan?" A voice spoke.

The young Kendo girl looked up to her saviour, the most unlikely of people. A hand was held down to her, which she slapped away. Standing up by herself she glared at him with malice, although he was unfazed being taller than she was, the sun glaring away behind him. 

"Suit yourself." He said. 

"My sister..." She demanded, "What was she doing here? Did you bring her to Tokyo to fight?!" She nearly yelled.

"No." He stated firmly, "She came to protect you."

Motoko paled, "What...?"

Shin sighed, "She already had plans to come here to make you inherit the dojo, but considering these recent events her visit changed to one of saving you from all this."

A gust of wind made Motoko's long hair flow out behind her, Shin's only moving slightly. Motoko fell to her knees. 

"Am I that much of a failure? Am I unable to protect myself...?" She spoke to no one in particular. 

"I don't believe so." He looked to her body, and a sense of loss was shown in his deep purple eyes. "The only thought in her at that time was love. She didn't care for her own safety, just to help you escape from this living hell."

Motoko couldn't bring herself to look at the body of her sister, and instead got up to evilly regard Shin through narrowed eyes. "So, why are you here?"

"She had no idea I followed her. I knew she could handle herself. The Shinmeiryu techniques I learned from her made me invisible to her ki senses. Not bad for a humble fisherman..." He inhaled sadly, "When I saw the blood fall on her, I knew it was too late. I thought you would protect yourself but when you didn't I had to step in."

"WHY?!" She yelled, "Why did you kill your own wife?! To save me? I would rather have died than be saved by you."

"You were not my first concern, however I knew in my heart that you dying would shatter my wife's soul to know that her body killed her own sister." He pulled up the empty but bloody net, "I saved her from the impure blood that flowed through her body. I love her too much to let her live on in pain." He unclenched the fist that held the net, and inside was a silver ring. "This was my bond to her, the bond we made in marriage. I will hold on to this ring until the day I die, whenever that may be." He looked off to his right, down a street. "I must part with you now, I don't know where I'm going, but it will be to atone for my sin.

He moved closer to Motoko, who didn't move while he spoke, "Don't let the blood near you Motoko-chan. Try and be happy like your sister, find that manager of yours in Tokyo and take him somewhere safe. Survive this ordeal." He had finished, "Until we meet again..."

Motoko watched him walk away from her, and saw him enflame his ki around the net, burning away the dead blood. Stunned by what he said, she gripped her katana tighter and ran off towards the nearest train station. The power was down and she could walk on the train line itself. 

**

Present Day

**

"I see..." Keitaro said, "So you travelled for five days then...?"

"Yes, it was hard and the Infected seemed to know where I was headed, they have a strange form of communication." She said before stopping, hearing high-pitched screeches in the air. "That's them!" She gripped his arm, "We have to get out of here!"

Looking around they were on a mostly empty street, high walls on both sides, but a car lay on a pavement, a door ajar. Keitaro pointed there. "Let's drive now!"

Half running half limping there they got inside and shut the doors, locking them quickly. Keitaro immediately started searching for keys and found them by pulling down the sun shield. Placing them inside he tried to start it but the engine wasn't firing properly. The screeching noises increased in volume and number.

"Urashima, hurry!"

They saw them, three at the end of the road and two closing in from behind the car. Finally with a swift punch to the dashboard, it flared up and roared into life. Keitaro placed his uninjured foot on the accelerator and they immediately flew backwards. 

"AAAAH! Why does this happen to me?!"

Braking rapidly he turned it into Drive gear, and as the automatic engine began to go on, the rear window broke with the fists of the two Infected.

"Go! Now!" Motoko screamed.

Pushing the pedal down to the floor, the car launched ahead, dislodging the two behind them, and heading straight for the three Infected in front of them. Swerving a little he missed two but clipped one on the edge, the car bumping over it twice as it went under the wheels. Tires squealing as they went round the corner he screamed.

"Motoko-chan! I can't control this! My left foot can't press down on anything!" 

Unbuckling her belt she went straight for the pedal and so she sat on his left thigh and pressed the brakes firmly to lower their speed. Soon they were in the clear but he still need her help to go around corners. 

"Urashima, if you get any perverted thoughts from this, I'll leave you with the Infected, got it?" She glared at him.

"Believe me, if I could I wouldn't." He smiled wanly back at her.

She noticed a signpost go by, "Where are we going?" She asked.

"Hinata-sou..." Keitaro said.

**

*~~~ Authors Notes ~~~*

**

Yes, it's me again; I've come back from my trip in Greece and have some lovely photos also. I'm now working on my Project III and thus will not be able to write much at all, so I apologise in advance for that. 

I have been conditionally accepted into the Creative Writing MA next year, so long as I get a 2-1 degree (which is hard, trust me), and gave one of my chapters as a submission for this course :-) 

Still, hope this chapter surprises a few of you, Shin was an interesting character to write, and if you look that word up you might be even more intrigued. 

Goodbye, until the next time

- J


	3. Hinata sou

****

Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato

Chapter 02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~ Hinata-sou ~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

43 minutes later

On the motorway

Their car was speeding past abandoned towns and flaming wrecks of the other unluckier cars, buses amongst others. Keitaro could barely keep his eyes on the road; he could never imagine a time when Japan would deteriorate to this state. 

"This is awful… All those people…" He had begun to realise the human cost of the virus. 

Motoko, now in her seat since they were no longer in a built up area, was looking down, her fringe overhanging her bandanna. 

"Why are going back to Hinata-sou?" She asked, quietly with a hint of nervousness.

"Why?!" Keitaro answered. _That was harsh. _He reverted to his usual tone and sighed, "To find everyone else, to get out of here."

"Didn't I tell you?!" She stabbed back, "They all left! I was the last one there!"

"Not everyone…" He stated with confidence, "There is one person I know who wouldn't leave Hinata-sou."

"Who?" Motoko asked, not anticipating his reply in any way.

His eyes became sadder, "Haruka-obasan…"

Motoko leaned back, the shock coming to her gently, and faced the road once again. _Haruka-san… That's right, I don't remember her leaving… Why did she stay there?_

****

At that moment

On the side of the road

As the car continued along the deserted highway, both passengers were unaware of a lone figure watching them from afar. Hidden in the blackness of a burned out tank of a petrol truck that was lying on its side, the figure smirked. Eyes the colour of tree bark tracked their movement, as a slicing wind momentarily obscured them with a lock of melancholic purple hair. The person spoke.

"I found you." The voice sounded eager and almost… hungry. 

Instantly, two Infected got up from inside two other cars that had not been burned and were panting to catch the person, who calmly walked out of the tank. Turning to them, the distinct visage of insanity could be seen, piercing white eyes and a deranged form of a smile on its face. As the Infected jumped at the person from both sides, the figure ducked, crossing arms at the same time so they were now across the person's chest. The Infected landed behind her, still on their feet. Standing up, the person had its eyes closed, the arms limp against its side, a blood red aura visible around the hands, flickering black before vanishing completely. 

The person walked forwards as the Infected screeched before their heads fell from their necks. Blood sprayed everywhere, save for the figure, who picked up a bag from within the tanker, removing a small object and throwing it at the cars from which the Infected came from. A second later the cars exploded, sending one of the cars up in the air and lighting up the area for miles around with smoke and subsequent explosions from petrol igniting. A dozen Infected, attracted by the loud noise, scrambled to get there, seeing the solitary figure standing they all surged towards it. 

The fire finally drew light to the perpetual shadow on the person's face, despite the sun above the person. A hand covering the face could not hide the glee the girl found at the sight of more Infected running to her. Running a hand through her thin hair, a solitary lock stood straight up, immediately bending a meagre amount in the middle. The aura around her hands fired up again, burning with more fervour now. Her face was intoxicated by delight, her iris' the size of pinheads. She started to laugh in a psychotic fashion. 

"I found you!" She said, running at the group of Infected, "I found you, oniisan!" She screamed before jumping into the attackers.

****

Meanwhile

Several miles down the motorway

"Bless you." Motoko said, handing Keitaro a tissue. 

"Thank you Motoko-chan." He accepted it, blowing his nose roughly. 

"How long till we reach there?" The kendo warrior asked, looking up at the darkening sky, the clouds becoming redder by the minute. 

"I'm not sure, I've never driven there myself…" Keitaro made a quick mental calculation, "Around an hour and a half I guess, why?"

"We must not get caught outside in the dark." She became grim, "They still have the same reflexes and from what my experiences told me, they can see better at night…" her voice trailed away towards the end of her words, the memories opening again.

****

Three days ago

1:31am

Hinata-sou to Tokyo Central railway

"Curse this tunnel, why did I go in here?" Motoko whispered under her breath. Echoing behind her were the familiar but still nightmare-inducing screeches. Grabbing her familiar katana she ran forwards deeper into the darkness as the screeches grew in volume behind her. Stopping, she faced her invisible opponents in a defensive stance. The sounds of scraping, feet shuffling and footsteps were getting more desperate and louder. Trying to sense ki in the Infected she failed to find any, so she took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, focusing on the sounds, she began to launch her projectile attacks on the darkness, hitting every one of the Infected, killing them instantly. A small spray of blood landed on her arm. 

Waiting until silence dominated once again, she disgustedly tore her sleeve off, throwing it to one side, doing the same to the other sleeve. _These are holding me back, I can't move as freely as I want. _Tearing at her hakama, she made it so that her feet could be seen. _Running is necessary now; I must not trip on this… _A clang in the direction she was heading alerted her, the tunnel being brighter in that direction for some reason. Wrapping up her arms in bandages quietly, to stop blood from reaching her skin, she kept her head pointed in that direction. 

When she though she was ready, she picked up her bag and walked off towards there, the light coming closer. What she saw shocked her. Fires were burning; there was a derailment, from what she could tell there were at least five carriages, all tilting to one side. Stepping forwards cautiously, a metal panel from the wall fell down, making a resounding clang reverberate through the tunnel. _No… Not now… I need rest… _The screeches were heard again, this time dozens, coming from the carriages and from the direction in which she came. Shadows flickered behind the windows, as rushing footsteps became a stampede. The sound scared her, the shadows became threatening, and more frightening than the darkness she was used to. The screeches were very loud, the tunnel enhancing their volume. 

Screaming, Motoko drew back her sword and brought it down in front of her time and time again. 

****

Present Day

"…oko-chan… Motoko-chan…" 

Coming back into reality Motoko looked at Keitaro, who had a concerned look on his face while keeping a close eye on the road. 

"What happened? You went quiet for a few minutes…" He turned to the road again, "Are you okay?"

"I… I'm fine!" She retorted, angling her face away from him, a blush passing over her features in a second. 

Not convinced, Keitaro looked into the left wing mirror, and was able to see tears cascading across her cheeks. _She must have been through a lot to get to me… I wonder what happened… _He looked up as the sun continued to depart from the sky slowly. 

Motoko shuddered. _Please be there on time… _

****

An hour later

Hinata-sou

"Quickly!" Motoko opened the car door. "Let's get in the Tea Shop!" 

They were parked at the base of the stairs leading up to Hinata-sou. Keitaro had just managed to open his door when the sound of screeches were heard. Panicked he fell over in a rush to move.

"Hurry!" Motoko ran to him and dragged him onto his feet, half carrying him up the few stairs to the Tea Shop, passing by the bodies of the Infected. 

Annoyed by his dead-weight, she shoved him to one side, making him land on the porch of the Tea Shop. Facing the two Infected running at the stairs, she launched two ki attacks at them. They were struck down before setting foot on the first step and were immediately sliced into countless pieces, dying without a sound apart from the falling lumps of flesh. 

Keitaro sat stunned by her actions. _This is what Motoko-chan is like when she's serious?! It's nothing like what I'm usually hit with… _Looking at her again she walked to him. 

"Why are you staring at me Urashima? You had better not be thinking impure things about me…"

"No!" He exclaimed, "It's nothing like that! You just seem so different when fighting them…"

Her hand twitched as she sheathed her katana. "It is because I have to create killing ki. The only way that is done is by shedding my emotions, to not think of the consequences of killing. Sympathy for those you try to kill will hinder any attack I make…"

"I see…" Keitaro understood. _But… What was she doing to me in Hinata-sou? To scare me…? _He tried to stand up, only to feel an arm looping under his shoulder, helping him to his feet. He looked to Motoko and blushed, "Th… Thank you…" He put his hand behind his head and sighed pathetically, "I must be a burden to you…"

She gave him a stern look, but he couldn't recognise any of the usual anger in them, but an unfamiliar empathy in them. Looking away indignantly and closing her eyes, she spoke. "I am merely a paying inhabitant of Hinata-sou. I am looking out for my manager. Nothing more." She looked up to the Tea Shop, the windows were barricaded from inside, but the glass outside was broken. "Are you sure Haruka-san is here?"

Keitaro nodded, "Let's try at least." He rapped on the door, "Haruka-obasan! It's Keitaro! Are you here?"

The shuffling of feet, a 'snickt' followed by a 'ka-chink' and the unlocking of several latches could be heard. Silence followed. Warily Keitaro put his hand on the handle and slowly edged the door open; it was stiff from lack of use. Pitch-blackness, except for a small red glow in front of him the glow came closer, in time with footsteps. Backing away he was surprised to see an arm outstretched, a custom-made Desert Eagle pistol, completely black save for white markings to illustrate specific edges. Surely enough, the enigmatic Haruka moved out into the dusk-light, cigarette burning away between her lips. Shifting her eyes from side to side, she sighed, smoke seeping out of her mouth, and she smiled at Keitaro. 

"Welcome back nephew." *crunch* "And it's Haruka-san." She scolded neutrally. 

"Wh… Why?" Said a grounded Keitaro; hand jerking involuntarily at thin air as a bump grew on his head from the pistol impact. 

Looking him a moment longer, Haruka focused on Motoko, holstering her pistol into a convenient loop on her belt, "How are you? You seem tired…"

"Yes Haruka-san, I've been walking for five days to look for Keitaro. In the end we drove back." She was pleased to have another friendly figure to talk to. 

"So why did you come back here?" Haruka asked, sounding bemused. 

"I want to find everyone and get them out of here…" Keitaro replied, standing up and leaning on his crutch, "Starting with you Haruka-obaOOF." A fist was embedded in his mouth, "… Mawuka-han."

She withdrew the fist, "Why do you care so much for me? I can live by myself." She sighed, "You're too caring, you know that?"

"B… But… You were always there for me when I was young…" He looked down, "You took care of me when my parents were away…"

Haruka faltered, her face cracking at the seams, remembering the feelings she had then. 

__

"Don't cry Keitaro, it's only a small cut. You should watch where you're going next time! … No there aren't any scary monsters under your futon. Fine then! I'll read you a story… Why are you covered in sand? Come on, let's go in the hot springs together…" 

Turning her head away her face only became slightly pink, her eyes watering an insignificant amount. "I… I know Keitaro…" She faced him again, her neutral visage once more plastered over her emotions, "I worry for you. You shouldn't put yourself through such strain." She looked down, her long fringe covering her eyes, "I'm not worth saving…"

"You're wrong Haruka…-san." She looked up, that was the first time he called her that. "You're very important to me! Though I can't remember things as well as I'd like to, I knew you always made me happy!" He smiled at her, "I'm sure you make others happy also. Isn't that a reason enough?"

Haruka softened, before becoming alert to the far sounds of screeches. "Quickly, get inside!" She beckoned to the two of them. They did as she said and went upstairs.

"Haruka-san," Motoko began, "It's very dark in here, is it because…"

"Yes." Haruka murmured, "The Infected are attracted to any form of movement and sounds, even light or candle flame. Going to the toilet is a dangerous thing nowadays." She turned on a tiny, battery-operated desk lamp in the centre of the room. "That's why the windows are boarded up." She turned to her nephew, "Keitaro, you can't go anywhere alone in case they see you. You're not like Motoko-chan who can defend herself if need be."

"No!" He retorted, "I can fight using Hina-obaachan's sword!"

"And where is that?" She asked in a sarcastic manner.

"It's… in… my room…" He answered, knowing what that meant. He looked off to the direction of Hinata-sou. "Are they in there?"

Haruka shrugged, "I'm not sure, but they would've scoured this city of people, Hinata-sou is one of the first places they'd visit."

"I'm not going to be helpless! I want to be able to defend myself!" He spoke, surprisingly wanting to prove a point. 

Haruka sighed, "Fine then, go. On two conditions, firstly you go with Motoko-chan, while you might be able to fight them after, before you won't, so you protect him Motoko-chan." She concentrated her gaze on the swordswoman. "Secondly, get back here before night comes. It's already late, and the Infected get more active at this time, I don't know why. I hope it's clear why I don't want either of you to be out late. I know you must have gone through a few incidents yourself Motoko-chan, but I know what they're like for longer, I don't want you to see them like this."

"O… Okay then!" He turned to his companion, "Let's go Motoko-chan!" He grabbed onto her hand without thinking, making her blush. He blushed more than her when he realised his mistake. She was about to hit him with her katana before Haruka moved between them. 

"I can't let you make any sound above a certain level." She said calmly, moving the edge of the blade away from Keitaro, "Hitting him now will do us more harm than good."

Motoko jerked her head away, and silently sealed away the exposed blade into the sheath. "Let's go then."

"Here, " Haruka began, "Go this way." She moved a book from the bookshelf and pressed a button behind it, opening a door in the chimney column. "The front entrance is too exposed. This way you get in Hinata-sou without being seen by the Infected."

"Th… Thank you Haruka…-san." Keitaro gasped, never realising something like that was hidden there. 

The two walked in and climbed down the ladder into the foreboding tunnel beneath.

****

Five minutes later

Hinata-sou

Floorboards were smashed, cupboards turned over, and the windows were long broken. A piece of the wall cracked, and an opening appeared. Cautiously two figures walked out into the empty corridor. 

"Which floor are we on?" Keitaro asked.

"I'm not sure." Motoko replied honestly, "We walked up so many stairs I've lost count and my bearings." She grew red at the close proximity needed to whisper to one another, but the darkness hid her face much to her gratitude. 

Pointing left they experimentally tried that direction, stepping on the boards they knew creaked the least, nearest the wall. 

__

I can't believe this is Hinata-sou… Keitaro thought. _All its life has gone… Where did everyone go? _He stopped in his tracks as Motoko held an arm out. 

"We're on the second floor, this is Naru-sempai's room" Motoko said in hushed tones.

Keitaro looked at the door and saw that she was right, a familiar note was left on the doorframe stating 'Studying - Do not disturb' in her handwriting.

"Let's go in." Keitaro said, walking forwards and reaching for the door handle.

"Wait!" Motoko broke her voice a bit louder than she wanted. 

As Keitaro slid the door open, a slouching figure stood up and screeched, causing the two to cover their ears. Dull thuds below could be heard as what was undoubtedly a horde of Infected rushing up the stairs. Screaming, it lunged at him, he ducked, screaming for his life, though he was only met with light splashes on his back as Motoko roughly cut through the Infected. She ran into the room dragging him with her.

"Come on! We've got to move, NOW!" She shouted. 

Looking around the room she saw the familiar board that kept the manager and tenant apart, without a Liddo-kun on it this time. Moving it aside she looked down and could not see anyone. 

"Quickly!" She beckoned, only to see Keitaro sitting there in shock, looking at his bloody hands. She exposed some of the blade, "Did any get in your mouth?" 

"N… No…" He looked to the body but in the fading light he could tell it was a girl, and there was a haunting antenna bouncing gently above the rest of the hair. He moved closer.

"Urashima! MOVE!" She forced him away from the creeping blood. She pushed him to the hole and then made him go down. 

"Na… Narusegawa…" He stammered as only his head and arms were above the floor level.

Motoko stopped and looked at the body, now completely in shadow. She turned back to him, "That wasn't her. She left first when Mei-chan came to look for her. Don't worry about this now."

Keitaro lowered himself slowly, not taking his eyes off the body and landed with a small 'whumph' on his futon. Immediately, in a corner, an Infected rose up and ran to him, slashing out with its fingers.

"AAAAH!" He clambered back, and saw his cast bore four red long claw-like marks on it. 

It stood up again, only to be stabbed through the heart by a katana." Sorry Urashima, I wasn't thinking properly." Removing the blade, the Infected fell to the floor. She looked gravely at the cast. "The red marks are from its fingers, not your blood, it broke through though…" She contemplated the risk and rose her katana once again. "This won't hurt, but don't move."

Keitaro merely 'meeped' in reply as she began to expertly slice away in the air, using quick slashes from left to right and along the length. Stopping, she lowered the katana and tapped the cast. It fell apart, revealing a pale leg but no skin breakage.

"Good, it did not pierce your skin and enter your blood." She peered closely at it and had a notion that something was amiss, "Urashima, stand up, and put weight on your legs.

He did so and was shocked to find that it didn't hurt. "I see." Motoko concluded, "That time of convalescence healed your bone. This is better."

Screeches above alerted them to their current situation. "Urashima, find the sword now!" She whispered.

"Y… Yes." He answered, still overwhelmed by his healed leg.

Looking to his trunk, he opened it and began throwing things out, making noise on the floorboards. Footsteps were coming from above, and moving away towards the staircase. Finally at the bottom of it all, in a wooden container lay the prize. Removing it from it holder, he held aloft the dark sheath, a red ribbon tied around the hilt with two strands flowing in the air. Sensing an unusual energy in it Motoko was about to probe it more before a crashing sound in the corridor echoed to them. 

Keitaro looked around him, "I'm going to change into better clothes and get a shoe Motoko-chan, my foot would get blood on it. Hold them off for one minute." She nodded and ran outside his room. He chose a random pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and he picked a pair of trainers from his old shoebox along with a pair of socks, ignoring the screeches and screams from his doorway. Finished after one minute, he walked outside.

"I'm rea…" What lay before them was a massacre, bodies strewn across the corridor, blood spattered on the walls and ceiling. The warrior woman was kneeling and panting, using her sword as support. 

"Urashima, my ki is unstable, too much killing ki weakens me after a while. It uses up a fraction of my life-force, but I've been using it very often now." She looked at him, her face red with exertion, sweat forming on her forehead, "We must go now."

Nodding, he helped Motoko to her feet and half-pulled her to her feet. Tripping, he ended up landing in another secret entrance found by Suu earlier in his corridor. They went underground, with nothing but each other to hold on to. 

****

Ten minutes later

"If my bearings are correct, then we should be at the entrance now…" He popped his head out of the hole, only to emerge at the back, facing the doors to the abandoned inn.

Motoko looked up also, checked her surroundings and snarled, "Urashima… You…!" She drew her blade. 

"Motoko-chan!" He pointed to the back of Hinata-sou, as faint outlines of advancing Infected came into view. "Quick! In here!"

He forced open the door and they ran inside, the doors shutting automatically. _Weird, why did they do that?_ He thought. A memory flashed back to him, and he recalled a story by Haruka, about not to enter the old inn.

"Motoko-chan, we have to get out of here." He looked to the surroundings and could see no obvious doorway. The pounding behind them told them that the Infected were at the door.

"Urashima…" She panted, "It seems that we're trapped… I can't… stop them now…" She fell forwards, Keitaro stopping her, his hand across her chest. He knew he would get hit for this, but nothing happened; she had fainted. 

He turned her face to him. She was unconscious, but breathing steadily, her gentle features coming through more as her feminine looks were enhanced. He made a decision there and then.

"I promise you Motoko-chan, we'll get out of this alive, I'll always be with you…"

He continued to hold her as parts of the door broke away from fists smashing through. Without warning, a strange purple lightning enveloped the two residents in a pillar of light. For a slight second, a red string was seen being attached to the little finger of both Motoko and Keitaro, vanishing immediately as the purple electricity faded. Imploding, the door gave in, and a horde of Infected surged into the cramped room. Immediately the sound of gears churning could be heard as the Infected looked around them for a source, dust began to fall from the ceiling and walls. Exploding from the floor, huge machines made from reinforced wood, two large gears grinding together each moved towards the Infected, pulling up more floorboards. Sensing those large devices as the sound, they surged to them, only to be crushed and minced into bones and blood. The first wave had been repelled amidst the carnage. The other Infected pulled back, knowing they couldn't defeat this new opponent. 

Keitaro stood there stunned. _Wh… What was that?! Why did those gears come up through the floor like that? _A sliding sound to his right alerted him, and he saw a door open. Taking this to be his chance, he walked there carrying Motoko in his arms, the sword in its carrier on his back. It was a tiny room, and the door closed suddenly, leaving him in pitch black. Keitaro was above to force the door open again when the entire chamber moved. He had to lean against the wall to steady himself. When the door opened again, he found himself to be behind the Tea Shop. Walking out again, he saw the door was craved into a large tree, and when the door closed, the purple light sealed off any indication that there was once an entrance there. 

Walking round the front he sensed the door opening and a wary Haruka looking out with two pistols. She smiled, putting out her cigarette on the floor, "Good, you're back." She looked to the unconscious girl, "Is she okay? She wasn't bitten was she?"

"No… Nothing like that!" He said as Haruka helped him carry Motoko into the shop, closing the door behind them. "She loses energy fighting them, making her ki kill or something like that…"

Haruka nodded, "I've experienced that myself, more recently since the Infected came here. I haven't felt this tired for many years now…"

Keitaro looked to Haruka with incredulity. _Sometimes I wonder about her past… _He looked around the room, now secure from all that was outside. "What do we do now?"

"We sleep." She stated, throwing him a rolled up futon, "Put this on the ground and lie Motoko-chan in it." She dipped a hand towel into a basin of misty water. "Put this on her head." Noting his reaction to the state of the cloth, she continued, "There's no more running water, this is all the water I have. I collect more from the roof to drink."

Accepting it he did as she said, quietly placing the futon on the ground and lying the younger girl into it. Removing her bandanna, her bangs fell more naturally against her face, moving back her fringe, he placed the damp towel on her forehead, and saw her stir in her fitful sleep. A light tapping on his shoulder made him jump; he looked back to see his aunt hand him another futon. 

"We sleep in the same room, stay next to her, I'll be by the door in case anyone tries to get in."

"Okay then Haruka-san." He replied, not noticing her stopping momentarily while he was setting up his futon. 

"Here." She handed him a pill, "Take this to sleep."

"Do I really need it?" He asked. 

"It stops you from snoring. I'll be half awake to stop any intruders." She stated.

"Okay then…" Swallowing the pill he crept into his futon, and removed his glasses. His eyelids grew heavier by the minute, the last thing he saw being Motoko's expression change from one of a frown to another of calm.

"Good night Keitaro." Haruka whispered to her nephew, seeing him close his eyes completely.

****

Next Day

10:04am

Haruka, Keitaro and Motoko were sound asleep, not a sound disturbed the peace of the Tea Shop for the entire night. 

Until now.

A loud rapping and pounding on the door could be heard, a second too late, Haruka woke up, realised something was wrong, and removed her pistols, aiming at the door. The latches were opened somehow, from the outside, and the door slid open, allowing light in, blinding Haruka. A care-free voice was heard.

"Aah, there you are Haruka." 

As her eyes got used to the sun, she saw a hand outstretched towards her, a familiar shape and lab coat reflecting beams of light off it. 

Keitaro, also woken by the sun, put his glasses on. Dumbfounded he spoke.

"Seta-san?"

-------------------

****

Author's Notes

This will be my last chapter for a while. Project III has ended, however a new ordeal faces me, exams, and now having to move out of my university flat (don't ask, long explanation). First one is on the 3rd June, last being the 13th. I need to revise hard this year, and hope for the best. 

I think some of you will like the developments in this chapter about certain characters, I plan to continue this story after my exams, as well as my major story, Book 3. I still have plenty of ideas, but not enough time in the world to do them unfortunately. Still, review this to let me know if you enjoyed it, or otherwise give critiques. 

- Jason


	4. Sayonara Hinata Springs

**

Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato

Chapter 03

**

One second later

Realisation flared through Keitaro's face, "Seta-san! How did you get away?" 

"Mind if I come in?" He asked first, before Haruka threw him in, locking the door immediately. "I'll take that as a yes." He said standing up, his head bleeding.

"Seta, you idiot!" Haruka berated him. "You could have been seen!"

"I didn't see any of the Infected… Just bodies…" He smiled, "It's good to see you again Haruka-chan."

She glared evilly at him, resisting the urge to punch him. "Idiot… What if you get caught by them…" She lowered her eyes, the fringe covering them, "What if they killed you?" 

Keitaro could see her cheeks getting wetter, she was crying. Motoko felt shocked. _I've never seen her like this before… _Seta too could tell, he walked up to her and cupped her chin, pulling her face up to his. "That doesn't matter to me, as long as you're safe."

Keitaro could see her eyes now; they were red and showing many emotions. Haruka grew sterner. "Be careful Seta." She flipped her eyes to her right where Keitaro stood. "Act as if you never saw that."

Keitaro nodded without a word. Motoko spoke up. "I believe that it is time to go now, we must get away from this area."

"Wait." Keitaro said. "We have Seta now, we might as well find the others now. The nearest person to us is Shinobu, I know her address, we should find her first before leaving Hinata Springs."

Motoko was unsure, as was Haruka, "It's dangerous," Motoko began, "They don't have the same skills as Seta and I. They might already be…"

"No!" Keitaro raised his voice, "I'm not going without at least looking for them in their homes!" He lowered his head, "They might be alive, we have to check…"

Motoko was stunned. _He cares about us? Why does he care so much? _"Keitaro, are you sure you want to this?"

Keitaro nodded, "It's my duty as manager to ensure the safety of all the residents."

Haruka smirked, "I think you're taking that definition too literally Keitaro." She sighed, lighting up her first cigarette of the day, "Okay," She said finally, taking a drag on it, "We'll go find the others then." She began to think out loud, "But, where would Kitsune go…?"

"I'm sure we'll find her!" Keitaro stated reassuringly.

"Okay Keitaro-kun…" Seta stated finally, his hand on the door latches, "You ready?"

Keitaro picked up a bag he packed the night before, as did Motoko and Haruka. He also had the Hina blade tucked in his belt.

"Right… Let's go!" Seta unlocked the door quickly, and they all launched out of the door. 

Haruka locked the door behind them. "Well I might want to come back…" She said.

"The van… Quick!" Seta said, running down the few steps.

Keitaro was in shock, Seta's van had undergone a few cosmetic alterations. The front bumper was now much thicker and sharper, dried on blood was caked all over it. The windows were also fortified; the glass appeared much thicker than it used to be. The doors had metal plating on it, as if were a shell of armour. Keitaro could've sworn he saw something moving inside the van. Seta opened the door carefully.

Suddenly, a short blonde haired girl jumped out of the van towards Seta.

"Papa!" Sarah cried. 

Seta became stern, "Not now Sarah, we have to go now…" 

Motoko and Keitaro got in the back, the latter in the middle, while Haruka joined Seta up front. Once in, Seta turned around and playfully patted her on the head, "Sorry I left you alone, but I had to check…" Seta started up the van, which now sounded far more powerful, and drove off. 

__

Just like me… Keitaro thought. He looked to the young girl on his left. _She looks so different… _Sarah appearance was no longer that of a bratty child. She seemed to grow up quickly, her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her clothing was mostly khaki. What shocked Keitaro was the fear on her face; she had this permanent scared look which he had never seen before. 

"Sarah…" Keitaro said, holding out his hand to comfort her somehow. 

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed.

Everyone jumped from her outburst. She started sobbing, not even bothering to wipe up her tears; just letting them stream over her cheeks onto her top. Seta glanced knowingly at Keitaro. Understanding for once, Keitaro put his arm around the girl gently and stroked her arm slowly. Taking a chance after five minutes, he pulled her closer, and felt happier when Sarah leant into him for support. _She's shivering, but she doesn't feel cold… It must have been scary for everyone… _While still looking at Sarah, his right hand came in contact with Motoko's. Angling his head to her with dread, he was surprised to see her looking out the window nonchalantly. He felt fingers intertwining with his, as her hand was underneath his. His heart slowed as he took this in. _Motoko is… holding my hand…? _He tried to shake off this possibility, but he could see no other reason for her doing such a thing. Looking back, she continued to face away from him, but he could see the telltale signs of a blush spread across her cheeks. _I'd best not say anything now… _He turned away to Sarah, who was now embedding herself his jumper. _Besides… It feels nice; her skin is soft… _

Seta was watching this happen thanks to the rear view mirror. He smiled to himself. _I thought so… When everything seems hopeless, we only have each other… _He looked to Haruka who had a bored expression, her cigarette glowing red from the open window. She too turned to the right and clutched Seta's hand for a brief moment before he changed gears again. 

**

Five minutes later

Maehara Restaurant

**

"Hmm, it took a while…" Seta mused. "Most of the roads blocked with cars, and there's a lot of fires around here…"

Keitaro picked up the Hina blade from the floor of the van, as did Motoko with her own ones. She seemed to change her mind, leaving the one with two bells on it against the seating. All except Sarah left the van, who locked all the doors from the inside.

"We're going in Seta-san." Keitaro stated, indicating himself and Motoko with the katana.

Seta nodded, "We'll defend the van… I don't know how much ammo I have left though…" Haruka seemed to be counting hers, placing numerous spare clips on her belt.

"Let's go Motoko-chan!" Keitaro signalled, once Seta had got his gun out. 

They noted that the entrance was dusty. Experimenting, Keitaro found it locked. Pulling with all his might, he wrenched the door open, sliding it smoothly. Stepping inside, they sniffed the stale air of the restaurant. They pulled their weapons out of their respective sheathes. At once Keitaro could tell that his was different, the metal itself was black, and he could've sworn he saw a black aura surrounding it. Blinking once, it vanished, so he took it to a trick of the light. He did not notice Motoko concentrating on his blade, as if it were about to do something unexpected. Katana's at the ready, they both walked through the low tables of the restaurant to the family area beyond. There appeared to be half-eaten meals on the tables, though the only customers were countless flies as the food had gone off by weeks. Passing the counter and till, they stopped for a second. Keitaro pulled back the beaded curtain for Motoko who stepped into the family area first. 

This was just a tiny area; the staircase to the above floors was right in front of them. There were some nondescript boxes beneath the stairs. To the right was a short hallway to another door. This had better locks and bolts, but they were ripped out of the wall. The door lay ajar, casting light on the bloodstained carpet beneath it. Looking up the steps, they could both tell that the trail led to the upper floors. The stairs were narrow, so Motoko chose to walk up it first. Creeping up close together, they made little sound, though some of the floorboards did involuntarily creak. 

Reaching the first floor, Motoko scanned the landing and saw two doors. The furthest was closed, and the nearest to the steps was open. There was a sickening smell emanating from the door. Looking grimly to one another in the low light, they held tighter to their weapons and went to the room. Standing in the doorway, they could see it was a bedroom. The king size bed was to the right, a window with net curtain letting more light in.

The first thing they noticed was the amount of blood. It was everywhere, the walls, ceiling and the furniture. It still glimmered in some places; meaning it was recent. There were two, adult bodies found. The man was beside the bed on his front, he had cuts all over his back. It appeared his head was twisted at an impossible angle; his neck had been broken. The woman was lying on the bed, on her back. The look of horror and suffering on her face made Keitaro turn away, but not before he saw the rest of her body. He threw up outside of the room in disgust. Motoko could not stop growing paler from the sight; she had seen many people dead like this. Bones jutting out from the woman's chest clearly meant that the ribcage had been ripped open. Motoko shut her eyes in respect and prayed for the two. 

Keitaro was now thoroughly depressed. "Let's go Motoko." He said after wiping away the bile around his lips, not looking at the people in the room. "Shinobu-chan's not here…"

"Wait…" Motoko paused, looking past the woman's body. "There's someone there."

Keitaro shifted his eyes past the gore and saw faint movement. A short person then stood up and from what little light fell upon that area, it seemed to notice them. A piercing scream and shriek came from the person, who charged around the bed and straight for Motoko. The light, reflected from the blood on the bed, finally revealed the person.

"Sh… Shinobu-chan?" Keitaro stammered. 

She had changed. All she wore was a white night dress; well, its original colour was white at some point. Now it was all stained with blood of varying shades, bright red blood over the older maroon coloured blood. She had a manic expression, her irises the size of pinheads as she ran to them screaming. She lunged, and Motoko closed her eyes as she raised her katana.

A hand parried her attacking arm as Keitaro, dropping the Hina blade, stood in front. Arms outstretched he caught Shinobu and embraced her, her tears soaking his shirt.

He couldn't say anything to comfort the distraught girl; the whole setting was incredibly bleak. Instead he just chose to hold her quietly. He cast his eyes upon Motoko and noticed her shuddering. 

"It's okay Motoko-chan." He said soothingly, "It's an easy mistake to..."

Screeches, dozens of them, came from outside. Keitaro looked around him, picking up the Hina blade and placing it in its sheath on his back. 

"We have to get out of here... Haruka and the others are still outside!" He went for the top of the staircase when a crashing sound was heard. "They're inside!" 

Shinobu fainted now, collapsing on the ground behind Keitaro. He removed the dark katana, holding it with both shaking hands at the first Infected to stagger up the steps. Not taking his eyes off the creature, he spoke.

"Motoko, find another way out... I'll hold them off..."

"Keitaro... What about Shinobu..." She replied, the thought that she nearly murdered her still raw.

"Go! Now!" He shouted, beginning to sweat as the Infected approached him. 

Motoko said no more and ran to the next staircase. Keitaro had taken a swipe at the first opponent, cutting a large gash in its chest. It 'gacked' painfully and fell backwards, only to be replaced by another, who jumped for Keitaro. Not reacting from the first as yet, he could only impale the non-human, but in the kidney area. Its bloody red gaze bore into the terrified chocolate brown eyes of the former ronin. 

Screaming in anguish, he thrust the katana deeper, causing pain to the Infected, but not enough as it was about to bring its dripping hands into the neck of Keitaro. Time slowed as the hands closed in, seconds becoming minutes. Closing his eyes, waiting for death, or worse, he felt a vibration in the sword hand. Snapping them open again, he saw the blade glowing, the dark aura he saw earlier wrapping itself around the metal, as if it were water flowing down a plughole. Suddenly, the aura grew red and expanded towards the tip, which was embedded in the Infected. Time returning to normal, the Infecting was flung in the air, piling into the others waiting to come up. The aura then ignited once away from the tip, creating a swirling vortex of fire, burning the Infected and most of the ground floor. They all screamed in pain, running about randomly in the tiny area below, setting more of the wallpaper alight.

"Keitaro!" Motoko's voice came from above. "Up here!"

Stunned for one moment, he realised that the flames were inching up the carpet on the steps, the wooden banister also burning. "C... Coming!"

Putting away the sword, which now looked plain and ordinary, he gently cradled Shinobu in his arms and ran towards the stairs, the flames now licking the side of the floor he was on. Gunfire could be heard outside. _They've started shooting, that means we have to hurry... _Running up the stairs with difficulty he saw the first floor crash down, the house now fully ablaze from the inside. Having reached the second floor, there was no sign of Motoko; all the doors were locked with no sign of having been opened. A shadow moved in a pale beam of light. 

"Keitaro!" Motoko had gone up into the attic and popped her head down to call him. He went straight there and climbed the ladder, being careful not to hit Shinobu against the trapdoor. The attic had a skylight directly above him. Motoko moved Keitaro out of the way and unceremoniously smashed it into tiny pieces, knocking away the jutting shards of glass still in the frame. She jumped up and then held an arm down. Passing Shinobu to her, she placed the young girl on the roof for a second before lowering a hand to help Keitaro. Accepting it, he managed to get onto the roof with little hassle. Motoko noticed the staircase catch fire and looked to Keitaro confused. 

"What did you do?!" Her expression giving one of extreme suspicion.

"I... don't know..." He answered honestly. "The katana made a fire... Like a tornado."

"I knew this blade possessed some form of ki..." She narrowed her eyes, "The aura it gave off was evil though..."

The roars of pain and continued sounds of bullets hitting flesh brought her out of her observation. She turned to the front of the restaurant. "We must go Keitaro..."

Picking up Shinobu, he ran off ahead. The roof was slanted so he had to run up then take his time going down as a few tiles threatened to give way, slipping beneath his feet. They looked down and saw that they were still too high above the van. Bodies were piling up around the openings to alleys and several lay on the main road. Haruka and Seta seemed to be on top of the situation. 

"Haruka-obasan!" A can flew into his face as he realised his mistake.

"Call me Haruka-san." She said, still chewing on her cigarette as she shot at three new Infected, all headshots.

"How do we get down?!" He cried above the din.

Seta took up the reply, still sounding cheerful. "On your right, there's a small house, go there and we'll meet you there." He blew away the stomach of one Infected.

"Okay!" Turning to his right they both ran to the building he said. It was far away.

"Keitaro, do you think they'll be alright?" Motoko asked.

"Sure they will." Keitaro grinned, "Haruka-obasan's been through a lot..."

**

Meanwhile

In front of the Maehara restaurant

**

Haruka popped in another clip into one of her dual Desert Eagles. Seta picked out another six bullets to put in his Magnum revolver. The stopped for a second and smirked at one another, unleashing more bullets into a group of Infected that were clambering over the dead bodies. 

"Brings back memories, eh?" Seta said, growing more melancholic as he shot another Infected.

"Yeah..." Haruka replied, her face becoming a shade darker, "They were fun times." Shooting an Infected in non-lethal places three times, she finally hit its heart. "I don't want that past to come back though..."

"I know Haruka-chan..." Seta paused as he placed more bullets into his gun. "We'll get through this." He looked to the van, "Shall we get moving?"

Haruka nodded, and began moving towards the tank-like vehicle. 

"Sarah!" Seta shouted, "Drive along with us as quick as you can." 

The blonde American understood and went into the drivers seat, firing up the engine and using the special paddle extenders from under the seat, she drove it forwards as Seta and Haruka started to run to the lower house ahead. 

**

Meanwhile

On the rooftops

**

Checking the height between two different houses, Keitaro crouched and slowly placed his feet on the slanted tiles, still holding Shinobu. Motoko followed suit as they ran on to the final house, which was much lower. Doing the same for that roof, they walked over to the edge and saw that the ground was far too high. About to turn away, the screeching of tyres meant that the van had parked right below them. 

Taking a chance, Motoko jumped off first and landed neatly on the roof of the van. Nervously, Keitaro stepped off and landed awkwardly, trying not to drop Shinobu. Motoko managed to stabilise him, and coaxed him into giving Shinobu to her. They both climbed down and finally reaching the safe cobbled stones of the road. Sarah unlocked the van's sliding door and beckoned them in; they did so without delay. Picking off a few more Infected, Seta and Haruka sat in their usual seats and locked the doors. In the back seats, Keitaro sat by the left window, Sarah to his right, followed by Shinobu and Motoko, who was holding the fainted girl. 

Unfortunately, once Seta put his foot on the accelerator, the van stalled and the engine stopped running. Trying the key, it wouldn't catch on. Haruka made to shoot out of the window, but they were growing in number and she couldn't get all of them from her angle. The younger occupants of the car began to scream, before something extraordinary happened. 

From one of the rooftops above, a figure began throwing small bottles at the large groups, fire smouldering from paper on the top of them. As soon as the bottles hit, the Infected became alight, screeching in pain and running randomly, hitting others in the process. The clothing was that similar to a nomad in the desert, clothing covering every part of the body, only the eyes being visible. The masked figure arched a sardonic smile under the scarf and pulled up on a motorbike hidden in a house. Driving level with the van, the person pulled down the mask. 

"Hey again, did anyone miss me?" Mitsune said.

"K... Kitsune?!" Keitaro spluttered out. 

Answering his unasked question, she elaborated, "I picked up a few skills around the place, especially riding this baby." She rubbed the motorbike affectionately. "My sake can be useful too, can't it?" Grinning as she pointed a thumb at the crispy Infected behind them. 

Seta turned the key for yet another go, and the engine finally came to life. "Okay people, lets roll..."

They turned around, facing the only way out, where there were still some Infected trying to get around the fires. From nowhere, a chilly fog appeared, and three people emerged from it.

"The evil cannot be contained for long." The first councilman said.

"Keep the dream and promise alive..." The second said.

"Keep yourselves alive..." The final one said.

Another figure came out, and it was one of the town elders, however very much mutated into the form of the Infected, his eyes bleeding profusely. He lunged at one, who was able to parry his attacks for so long until he too was bitten. Not waiting around, Seta and Mitsune revved their engines and hurtled towards the fog. Haruka watched the remaining live elder, the head of the town surrounded by five Infected, smiling at her. He bowed deeply to Haruka. 

"This is my punishment for interfering in your past... Forgive me Haruka-dono..." 

She saw one of the Infected slice him in the back, and the rest pounced on him like lions to a prone zebra. Haruka closed her eyes, a guilty tear tracing a silver line against her cheek. 

The fog evaporated immediately, and they were through it without a scratch leaving the dead and remaining few Infected behind. 

"THERE YOU ARE!" A figure screamed, "ONIISAN!"

A young girl flew from the sky and landed on the road in front of the van. The force of the impact was such that the tarmac and concrete cracked and broke away, leaving a large crater and the road at an unnatural tilt. The van skidded around the new obstacle, as did the motorbike. 

Kanako stalked out of the trench she created and glared daggers at the departing vehicles, her right hand becoming surrounded by black steam. Clenching her fist and crouching, she punched the road and what can only be described as a torpedo tunnelling just below the surface of the road emerged. It followed the pair leaving a trail of upturned road behind it. 

Glancing back, Mitsune noticed this, and cursing to herself she one handedly picked out another bottle from her rucksack and threw it in the path of the projectile. It hit the road and exploded just as it met the tip of the destruction. The trail stopped there, and Mitsune smiled, speeding up to catch up with the van. 

Kanako stood up, her eyes focusing on the vanishing targets, a look of undiluted hatred in them. She cracked her knuckles upon hearing more Infected approaching her at a run. 

She laughed wildly, "I'll see you soon, oniisan!" 

She looked up to the sky and roared, her arms at her side, as the dark aura covered her from head to toe, cracking up more of the road as a hot breeze flowed from her. The ensuing earthquake from this power made sure that the nearby buildings collapsed from the intense strain.

**

Meanwhile

In the van

**

"Who was that?!" Sarah cried between burrowing her head in Keitaro's top. 

Only two people knew, and they were both stunned into silence. "Th... That's... My sister..." Keitaro said slowly. 

Sarah and Motoko looked at him, "I never knew you had a sister..." Motoko said. 

"I didn't think I needed to mention it... She's adopted... But..." He recalled the moment when she landed on the road. "What's happened to her? She's changed..."

"That ki of hers..." Motoko spoke up, her voice quivering, "It was evil... And very strong too."

Keitaro shook his head, as if by doing that it made it true. "No, it can't be..." He reminisced back to a time when he was still a naive boy, looking after his sister in the hot springs. "She isn't like that..."

"Well, I think that you need to think of her differently from now on Keitaro." Haruka said plainly. 

"I guess so..." A glum Keitaro replied. 

Seta looked to his right to see the covered Mitsune making some hand signals to him. "Mitsune wants us to know where should go now." He shouted to the rest of the group as they sped through open country. 

"We've got to get away from Japan. Okinawa would be the best place to get to before we leave the country." Keitaro though for a moment. "I think Narusegawa's house is in Tokyo..." Keitaro pondered out loud. 

"It is, but in the area of Tokyo, not the centre." Haruka stated. "It's on our way from Hinata Springs."

"Okay..." Seta rolled down his window and shouted Naru's name to Mitsune, who nodded eagerly in reply. 

**

9:40am

Naru's street

**

An eerie stillness struck everyone as they coasted quietly into the street. Hinata Springs was always like that, the silence would be considered normal there. However, in a suburb of Tokyo, it was not. Edging closer to the house, they were about to stop when a scream was heard at the other end of the road. Looking to one another, they were debating whether to help. Thankfully the decision was made for them.

"Kei... Keitaro..." The voice shouted.

"N... Narusegawa..." Keitaro muttered, opening the door and pulling out the blade before he realised what he was doing. "Everyone, help her!"

He ran down the road towards the screams, the others way behind him. He saw Naru cowering in a corner where two houses met, while a short Infected girl snarled at her. 

"NO!" Keitaro bellowed, and he drew the blade back to attack, but again it took a will of its own and made his hand slash downwards. This created a lethal minuscule wall of flame, which sliced straight through the Infected, chopping it underneath the left arm to the above the right shoulder. Falling down, the two pieces 'thudded' dully on the road. 

Walking up to Naru with a relieved smile he held out a hand to help her up, but she gave him an expression which he had never seen before. Wrath. She brought both her hands to his neck and started squeezing with a strength he hadn't felt before. He was forced to the ground, Naru sitting on his stomach continuing her attack. The others gasped and ran to them. His vision began to darken as the lack of oxygen finally made it mark. 

"N... Naru..." He managed to breathe some words to her. "W... Why...?"

A momentary pause from the girl, and she released her hands, only to begin pounding his face and chest. "Why?!" She spat at him. "I should be asking that!" The fists began to lessen in power, and the number grew fewer. "W... Why... Why did you kill M... Mei-chan?"

"Mei... chan...?" He looked to the body, and saw orange-red hair, the bloody eyes now lifeless. "Yo... Your sister...?" Keitaro now was shaking, his actions now fully ingrained in his mind. Naru nodded, tears streaming down her face. "B... But... She was Infected... she would've..."

"NO!" Naru screamed again, punching Keitaro harder, who now felt more pain thanks to many bruises on his face. "NOOO!" Seta went behind her and held her up under her armpits, lifting her off Keitaro. 

She turned to punch him, noticed it was Seta, who watched her with pity, and bawling out loud Naru buried her face in his labcoat, crying uncontrollably. Motoko, who had been keeping an eye out for any stray Infected who might've heard the screams, helped Keitaro up and looked him over. He had a black eye and also bore a cut lip. Bruises dotted his cheeks and forehead. She was sure there were also some more injuries under his jumper, but she chose not to probe further for fear of either hurting him or embarrassing herself. He dusted his back off and felt the sore spots on his body. Looking to Naru, he saw that she was still clinging to Seta, and feeling ashamed, he painfully walked away from her back to the van. He went straight by a prone Mitsune who had seen the whole thing pan out, and for once her eyes were open with unbridled pity and compassion for Keitaro. Sarah, seeing he was coming back to the van, unlocked the doors, and he begrudgingly sat in the back, not saying a word to the blonde girl. At that moment, Shinobu came to, her eyes rolling about in their sockets for a minute before she got her bearings, sitting after lying against the right hand window.

"Sempai...?" She asked in a puzzled fashion.

Keitaro, surprised by her recovery, turned to her and grimaced when she flinched from his appearance. 

"What happened to you sempai?" She wanted to know in the way she always cared for him. 

"Naru hit me." He lied slightly. "How are you?"

Thinking for a second she looked down and saw her bloody nightdress, and her irises retracted to pinpoints again. Images of blood, bones, faces and fire flashed through her mind. Realising he put his foot in it again, Keitaro hugged Shinobu, as she remained there frozen, replaying what she saw earlier that day. 

"We'll get you some new clothes, yeah?" He rubbed her back too, needing some form of comfort for himself after killing someone whom was indirectly related to him. "Forget everything that's happened, when you're ready you can tell us." Shinobu, in some kind of trance, nodded in reply, and placed one hand on his back to acknowledge his hug. He patted her head, "It's okay, you can sleep here if you want, or cry..." He added on the last bit without thinking, and he became flustered, pulling back and scratching the back of his head, thinking he might have upset her again. "Th... That's if you want to do that that's all..." Her eyes grew wetter and happier again as her innocent lips curled upwards, the first smile for many weeks. 

Motoko was outside the van, seeing everything fold out in front of her whilst making sure more Infected didn't arrive. _He really does care about us... He wants us to be... happy... _She smiled as the others came back, and she chose to sit next to Keitaro. Seta was driver as per normal, Haruka next to him, but this time holding a scared Sarah, Naru in a state of shock leaning against the left window, and then the other three, Motoko, Keitaro and Shinobu sitting next to her. Mitsune mounted her motorbike to the right of the van. Seta dropped his glasses in Motoko's lap, who then shifted forward to give it to him. He whispered to her.

"Keep an eye out for Naru." He had a serious expression this time. 

Motoko nodded and immediately glanced at the girl, but saw nothing peculiar. Sitting back in the seat, Seta started the engine; Mitsune followed suit. Without pausing, they drove out of the suburbs and into the open road, avoiding empty cars and the like that littered the road.

**

Meanwhile

Hinata Springs

**

A female presence walked through the empty streets. Every now and then, one Infected would run to her, to maim and kill her, but she dispatched every one without a single utterance. She was holding a small portfolio in her hands; the front cover said 'Hinata-sou tenants - Manager Only'. She was flicking through the pages and found the images of the current residents, each containing some information regarding their height and age, and more importantly, their address. 

"So..." She said aloud, "He was at Shinobu's house."

Another patting of feet and three more Infected ran out of a house, obviously a family by the looks of the father, mother and child. Looking at them, she twisted her face into a gnarled toothy grin, before storing the book in her bag and proceeding to chop off each of their limbs using the aura blade around her hands. Leaving them incapable of movement, their screams and screeches now of intense agony, she walked on. _Hmm... If I know my brother well, he's going to find everyone from Hinata-sou. It's been a while, so they have probably found Naru by now. The only other two here mentioned are Kaorra Suu and Otohime Mutsumi... Suu has no records of a place of birth, or other residence... Mutsumi isn't a paying resident; she seems to be an honorary member... _The entry showing Mutsumi described her fainting a lot and how she lived near them and even worked in the Hinata Tea Shop. Kanako focused on the address that was listed. _She lives in Okinawa? That's interesting... _Kanako lifted her head from the book and looked up into the sky. For once, her eyes became more melancholic and happier, before returning to its cold, hard, state. _I'll go there then, but first I need a form of transport.... _

Looking on the deserted street, all the cars were either totalled, missing doors and wheels or burnt out. She continued walking and found the small shops belonging to the town elders. She was rather surprised, her eyebrows raising in mild amusement, to see a black lorry with trailer parked nearby, facing the bridge that led out of Hinata Springs to the outskirts and then the motorway. She looked over the driver's cabin; it was in perfect condition, gleaming against the light fog and the fires elsewhere reflecting in its metallic paint. It even had the ignition key in it. _The driver must've been pulled out... _Looking on the street she saw a decomposing body nearby. Testing the engine, it worked and displayed a half-full tank. _Good._ _What was he carrying?_ She left the drivers cab and walked to the back. Peering into the trailer, she found it contained food. _This is helpful... _She went in and took out a few boxes of cans and other non-perishable goods, placing them in the passenger's seat. _Well... That should be enough... _

Clapping her hands together to get rid of any dust, went to where the trailer connected with the drivers cabin. She pulled out the pins and cut through any cord holding the two together. Getting into the cabin, she started the engine and pulled out, but the trailer still wasn't detached. Speeding up, she noticed a lever in the cabin that had a picture of a trailer and an up arrow next to a picture of the cabin. Pulling it, she heard a satisfying wrench behind her; it had broken free. Some Infected, attracted by the grating noise, ran out to greet her. The lucky ones behind were crushed by the wayward trailer, which now careened into a house. Those unlucky ones now found themselves in the path of Kanako's new behemoth. Licking her lips with pleasure, she veered her way into a large group of them and proceeded to splatter them all over the front and sides of it. Speeding up, she had to turn on the windscreen wipers to clear the thick blood away from her view of the road. Looking forwards, staring through the Infected, the eyes were of a demon possessed, and she appeared to love every, squelching, second of it. 

The view pulled away from her mad guise and moved to the side of the lorry, as its booming horn echoed around the streets. The unstoppable machine ploughed on, the sounds becoming less as it vanished amongst the houses. The view panned up, into the bright midday sky, and then panned down to...

**

Western edge of Kanagawa Prefecture

12:03pm

**

The van and motorbike were parked outside a large supermarket. All eight of them stared at the entrance, and Haruka opened the door. Inside there was no lighting, but the numerous windows made it bright enough. 

"Shall we shop?" She said in a sarcastic voice, smirking with her cigarette. 

The group split up into four groups, each taking an empty trolley. Seta and Sarah went for the chocolate and sweet section, Haruka and Mitsune for the alcohol section, Naru and Motoko to the canned food section, and finally Keitaro and Shinobu were left to find things that would be useful. 

**

With Keitaro and Shinobu

**

Looking at the signs on the ceiling, Keitaro saw that this store also sold clothes.

"Let's go there first Shinobu-chan." He smiled meaningfully, "We could both do with some new clothes."

Smiling with joy Shinobu almost skipped there, pushing the trolley along like the child she was. When they reached there, although the selection was limited, it had both the sizes they were looking for. Grinning at each other, they then began picking out suitable clothes, asking each if certain items suited the person or not. Shinobu was the one who mostly did this. Picking out a flowery pink top along with a long grey skirt, she held them up against herself for Keitaro to decide. 

"I don't think the skirt suits you Shinobu-chan..." He answered honestly, "It's too long..."

"I thought so..." She lowered the skirt dejectedly. "It's just that they don't have my usual type here..." Her eyes brightened up and she chose a pair of pale blue jeans. "How about this?" They were quite normal; the sewing was neon red and thus could be seen from afar. Keitaro put his thumb up. 

After turning around and letting her change, she tapped him on the shoulder and she was sparkling in her new, more modern outfit. Keitaro nodded. 

"It was a good choice Shinobu-chan." 

She blushed, "I couldn't have done it without you..." 

Keitaro blushed too, "Well, I don't know much about women's clothes, but you look very pretty in those..."

At these words she twirled around and went to look for more clothes, more blood rushing to her face. _He complimented me! He complimented me!_

Several minutes passed and they had found another change of clothes each. Satisfied with their choices they moved on. Walking back to find Naru and Motoko (Shinobu wanted to make sure they found stuff which didn't have to be cooked), Keitaro saw the electronics section. On full display was a portable radio, which didn't need batteries. It was powered only by rotating a small handle on it for a minute or two, and it would then run for half an hour. Seeing this as a useful thing to have, he picked up one, looked back, and got another three. 

**

Meanwhile

With Naru and Motoko

**

The former still moved like a shadow, no sound left her lips, and the only movements were to pick up some cans she thought might be useful. Motoko sometimes disagreed with her, and once her complaint was made, Naru picked up the chosen can and put it back on the shelf without any argument. It went on like this until they had a half trolley full of food. Motoko was becoming more agitated by the lack of interaction with Naru, so she stopped in front of the chopped tomatoes. Stopping too, with the trolley, Naru around stared at the can and was about to pick up two cans before Motoko held out her hand.

"Enough Naru-sempai..." Motoko stated firmly, "You must break out of this... The death of a loved one is always tragic, but you must not punish yourself like this." Motoko lowered her face as she spoke. "I... saw my sister killed in front of me too, by her husband... I hated him before he killed her, and after, it only increased." She looked into Naru's eyes. "But he explained why he did it. I still disliked him, but I saw how much he regretted it. Surely Mei-chan would not want you to make yourself suffer more. Think about how Keitaro feels now."

Naru turned to Motoko her face still perfectly neutral, her eyes no longer with their inner brightness. Bit by bit, the cheeks grew puffier, the nose twitching more until sniffing was necessary, and finally tears welling up to the brim, at last pouring over the brim of the eyelids.

"Mo... toko... -chan..." She began.

Returning her hand to her side, Motoko gave her a quaint smile. "Do you want anything from here? You picked up some food before..."

"Y... Yes..." Naru paused and moved off to the canned fruit section, Motoko beside her. "Mei-chan always loved these..." She said, picking up a can of peach slices. She put it in the trolley as the tears grew plentiful. Motoko looked around the corner and picked up a packet of tissues, handing it to Naru, who, surprised, accepted it. "Th... Thank you Motoko-chan..." She sobbed.

"Come... Let's get more food..." Motoko spoke in a soothing fashion.

**

Meanwhile

With Haruka and Mitsune

**

"You think you have enough sake there Kitsune?" Said a sarcastic Haruka.

"Heh... It's not for drinking..." Mitsune smirked. "Since everything happened..." She paused, opening her eyes also, thinking about the days after the Infected arrived in Hinata-sou, "I... sobered up a little..." She grinned more, her eyes shutting quickly, "Can't be caught with my head down a toilet now can I?"

Haruka took a drag on her cigarette, "If you say so..." Haruka eyed up some of her favourite sake, now tantalisingly in front of her. Taking one, she placed it in their trolley, then took another two of them. Following the mischievous look by Mitsune she spoke. "Well... If we have to get sake, might as well be good sake."

"If you say so..." Mitsune repeated the same words Haruka did.

"So..." Haruka quickly changed the subject. "How come you were still in Hinata Springs?"

"I don't know..." Mitsune said vaguely, walking to the nearby fruit stall. "Hey! How come these apples aren't rotted like the rest?"

Indeed, the purple, mouldy fruits were not appealing to the tastebuds, but the golden green apples still appeared to be ripe. "They're irradiated, that's why." Haruka said, picking up one, smelling it, and biting into it. She lifted the entire box into the trolley and continued with her earlier question. "Did you want to stay near Hinata-sou?"

Mitsune stopped in her tracks, her hair shadowing her face. "How... how did you know...?" A tear streaked down her cheek instantly disappearing. 

Haruka smiled wanly, satisfied her guess was correct. "Just like me..." Haruka looked off down the other aisles, seeing the others every now and then. "When I lived there, I felt young again... Like everything would turn out to be fine in the end." Her smile lessened in its size. "I also hoped... That everyone would come home somehow..."

"Yeah..." Mitsune agreed. "That's how I felt too..." She smiled more truthfully, "Well... It's happened now, we're all together..."

Haruka resumed her deadpan expression. "We're not out of the woods yet... We still have to find Suu... Kanako is attacking us, and we still don't know why... And Keitaro will begin to wonder about his parents..." She looked into Mitsune's eyes. "We'll all die... Unless we get out of Japan..."

Mitsune stepped back. "Gees, no need to be depressing all of a sudden..."

Haruka took out the cigarette and blew smoke into the air, which then hovered around her face. "I'm always like that..."

**

Meanwhile

With Seta and Sarah

**

"Do we really need ten of these?" Seta half-moaned.

"But papa, I love Pocky!" Sarah whined.

"Okay then Sarah." Seta held out three things from their trolley. "But put these back if you get the Pocky."

Sarah again went into her usual tirade. "But I like Terry's Chocolate Orange too!"

This went on for a few minutes before a compromise was reached, she got seven Pocky if two chocolate oranges were put back. Hanging off the front of the trolley, Sarah picked things out for them to take.

"I'm only being fair Sarah... Too much chocolate isn't good for you..." Seta extinguished his cigarette, stamping it out on the floor. 

"I know, but it's tasty!" Sarah grinned, her face already displaying smears over her lips and one or two brown fingerprints on her cheeks. One of the Oranges was open, and several slices were missing from it. 

Seta smiled. _Sarah is happier than usual, I knew Hinata-sou was a good influence on her. Now that most of us are back, she's becoming her old self. _He watched as she swallowed another slice. _Chocolate also keeps her amused, but not for long. _Sure enough, he saw the telltale signs of gorging oneself, her eyes rolling a little in their sockets, their gaze one of sleep, though what she felt was sick of eating too much sugar. Seta pulled out a can of Coke from the trolley. 

"Here..." He opened it for her. "Drink this Sarah."

"Thanks papa!" She chimed back, taking it with glee. Pulling it away after a few seconds, she sighed. "Ahhh. That's so good..." She smiled wryly at it, "If only it was cold though..."

"Well..." Seta began, explaining it again to her, "As there's no electricity, that means that the fridge's and freezers don't work. It's still drinkable warm..."

"... But it doesn't have the same... zing to it..." Sarah complained.

Seta didn't reply, she'd only get angry. He picked up more drinks since there were a wide variety of tastes around the group. _That should be about it.... _

**

Checkout

12:37pm

**

Four trolleys were rolling up together, pausing as the faced each other. 

"Good haul everyone?" Haruka grinned, her cigarette gone as she was munching the apple with much gusto. 

"Yeah..." Keitaro spoke with a longing look at the apple she had. 

"Right.... Let's go then." Seta grinned. 

All four trolleys rolled through different tills, large grins apparent on everyone's face. Seta pulled out his credit card and left it on the counter as he and Sarah walked by.

**

Outside

**

"All packed up then?"

Haruka scanned over the van and Seta gave it an appraising look. Not wanting to risk leaving the back open, the fragile goods were stuffed into the boot area, the more durable wrapped up tightly on the roof. Everyone else appeared in a more jovial mood.

"Where are we going now Haruka-san?" A regressed, shy Shinobu stammered.

Haruka looked to Keitaro. "It's up to the manager... He chooses where we go."

Keitaro was still, the sun casting a shadow over his eyes. "Haruka-obasan, have you heard from my parents?"

Haruka, taken aback, didn't slap him over the head to correct his mistake. "They only contacted me once, before the phones went down... Since then, nothing..." She remained passive, not giving away the growing anxiety in her heart.

"Well then... We're going to see them..." He opened the door to the van and was about to step in.

"Keitaro..." Motoko spoke carefully, knowing how he reacted the last time. "It's been a while... We don't know..." She stopped upon seeing the look on his face, it was one she hadn't seen very often. He appeared troubled, though she was used to that, he always had some form of fear and anguish while living in Hinata-sou. There was something deeper in his eyes, one of regret. _Why is he like that? The pain... I've not seen him like this since..._ Motoko tried to think of times when he had that look. _Only when he talked about failing to get into Toudai... Could this mean he failed... his parents?_

It was only for a second that his eyes dulled over with the look, but he immediately turned and sat inside the van. "Well!" Seta clapped. "As we're ready now, we should get going soon!"

Everyone stalked silently into the light tank, now replenished with some chocolate from the store. Keitaro sat next to Naru, Motoko and Shinobu to her right. Haruka took up the drivers seat, as Seta sat with Sarah in the passenger's seat. Mitsune nodded to the others and signalled she would follow them. Starting their engines, they launched off into the empty roads, to another empty city.

**

--------------

Author's Notes

**

Ho hum, wrote this in Spain. Not much else to say, had a good time, got a tan, and was rather filled with healthy food. Well, at least I wrote something to pacify you hungry people. Enjoy!

- Jason


	5. As Reality Sets In

Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato

Chapter 04  
As Reality Sets In

This chapter is dedicated to Maria, my girlfriend, my biggest fan.

1:34pm

The van journey was more or less quiet, just the roar of the engine as it sped down the dead motorways towards their destination. Cars, coaches and many other forms of transport were strewn over the lanes, so driving was more precarious. Infected did appear every now and then, but they were long gone after driving away further.

Naru was still in anguish over what happened earlier, her sister, killed. _But she was Infected… She'd kill me without even thinking about it… _She looked to Keitaro and saw him; his eyes glazed over as he barely noticed the landscape. _Keitaro didn't want to kill her… I know him, he'd only kill if there was no other option…_ Naru took out yet another tissue and wiped at her face; her cheeks were bright red and puffy from all the tears. Looking down, she placed a hand delicately on his thigh. This startled him and he involuntarily grabbed whatever was holding him. Noticing that it was Naru's hand, he relaxed the grip before he crushed it.

"Keitaro…" She spoke. He looked at her, one eye had a small bruise on it from earlier, and it was healing well. "I'm… sorry…" She paused to wipe away the misty vision she had. "I don't hate you… I was just…"

Keitaro squeezed her hand softly, "I understand Narusegawa, I knew you didn't mean it." He smiled gently to put her at ease, which seemed to work.

Naru began to cry again, but this time it was due to the misunderstanding being cleared up. Motoko saw this and inwardly was happy that the two had made up. She glanced at Shinobu, who was much more cheerful than before, although a bit muted. _Not surprising really… She's been through the same thing as me, and indeed Naru-sempai. All of us have lost someone important to us… _She thought of Keitaro's face as he got into the van before leaving. _What will happen to Keitaro if the worst comes true?_

2:55pm  
Keitaro's hometown

"Shizuoka City…" Haruka spoke with a hint of fear.

"Looks like it was one of the first cities to fall…" Seta spoke seriously as they drove slowly by a tank, the top hatch open and the operator eviscerated, blood and entrails spattered over the top.

There were many armoured vehicles with their doors ripped off their hinges, and their occupants massacred. Kitsune, on the motorbike outside, was overly cautious as she was more vulnerable to attack. Though the slightest noise alerts the Infected, none were forthcoming. This confused Motoko and Haruka, even Seta was curious as to the reason. The kendo expert noticed strange things though, like the fact that some of the light armoury were attacked with weapons other than the hands of the Infected. Some bore unmistakable bullet holes, blade markings and even other unexplainable types of destruction, twisted metal, molten vehicles and bodies. _It doesn't make any sense…_ Motoko began to scrutinise the wreckage. _These weren't made by the Infected… They only attack using their hands. Even my… my sister dropped her katana… _She gripped the katana with two bells on it tighter.

The van drove on through the hostile territory, heading for the childhood home of Keitaro.

**3:24pm  
Further inside Shizuoka City**

The burned out cars had long been passed by, but there were still blockages on the streets as others piled into one another, cutting off several roads that could have been used. Despite travelling through the city, they hadn't seen a live Infected yet, which was highly suspicious. The unfamiliar circumstances of this led to everyone growing more and more nervous, as the growing quiet continued to chill them.

They stopped as they reached the end of Keitaro's street, and after turning off their engines they walked slowly to his house. Each was alert and the ones that couldn't defend themselves (Shinobu and Sarah) clung to someone they trusted, so Seta and Keitaro were more careful as they had to protect another person. Naru remained close to Mitsune, who smirked as she held out her sake in preparation to light it just in case.

"Here we are…" Keitaro looked up to his old home of nineteen years. There was no light and the curtains were shut.

"Remember, if there's any movement inside..." Haruka warned.

"I know..." Keitaro spoke back quickly.

Taking out his keys that he had in his bag, he unlocked the house and walked in. The latches being pulled away with some effort. _Seems like it hasn't been opened in a while... _He was careful to take his shoes off and put on his old slippers, which were still waiting for him despite the amount of time he was away from home.

Pushing it away from him, the door swung inwards with a small creak. The air was distinctly musty as the sunlight clearly showed the dust floating about in the air. The stillness gave an eerie atmosphere for everyone as they walked in one by one. Keitaro looked around and wiped a nearby surface, noting that his finger was caked in the dust. Walking through the still flat, he looked at the walls with his family photos on them, and he couldn't help but feel a little happy, being reminded of his time when he was young and lived there. Passing many pictures of his childhood, he noticed that one of the frames was empty, the photo was missing. _That's strange... _He walked into the small corridor from the living room and passed his old bedroom, the door was closed. It was now that he smelled a unique scent, and it wasn't pleasant. It came from the door at the end of the corridor, his parent's room.

"Urashima, wait!" Motoko grabbed his arm whilst her thumb on the other hand pulled her katana an inch out of its sheath. Tearing himself away from her grip, he ran to the door and pushed it so hard that it rebounded from inside the wall, bouncing back a tad.

The shock began to course through him, as he half-walked forwards, unsure as to whether it was necessary. The room was quiet but peaceful, as the soothing yellow light bathed the furniture in a calming glow. The bed was the main focus of the light, wherein lay two people. Their skin was turning black and green at the edges, but at least, to Keitaro, they still looked recognisable as his dead parents. Haruka, who hovered at the entrance, closed her eyes in a quick prayer and then ushered everyone back to the living room to give him time alone.

He moved closer to the bed and could see their expressions. Unlike the scene at Shinobu's house, this one contrasted in that they weren't attacked and killed by the Infected. A cursory glance at the bedside table and the small bottles of sake and empty pill containers made their demise obvious. Looking on, he saw the leftovers of what appeared to be a large meal, with high quality food. Thankfully, their eyes were closed, having died in their sleep, and they were wearing white. _Funeral robes... They prepared themselves for this... _His glasses, opaque to hide his emotion, moved down as he saw his mother holding a photo. _The one from that frame... _He pulled it out from beneath her fingers, but couldn't get rid of the feeling of her hardness due to rigor mortis. He pulled the bedsheets over them, stood up to the door, and gave them a small bow, and left, closing the door behind him.

He went into his own room and the familiar smell of his deodorant and aftershave came to him. Sitting on his bed, he looked at the walls, although some were now bearing less than they used to, the emphasis that it was his room still remained. Some of his older books were on the shelves, and some had toppled over without any bookends. His desk was tidy; his mother had done that every time he left the home to make it welcome for him to come back.

There was no solace here any more.

Looking at the photo, he saw it was a picture of him grinning widely, hand outstretched to the camera. From what he could gather, his hands were dirty, sand covering them. In the background were some swings which seemed oddly familiar. The look of glee in the young Keitaro's face made him smile a little, until he turned the photo around.

"Dearest Keitaro,

We're proud you made it into Toudai, our only wish was for you to be happy in life, and now you are. With endless love we left you sleeping, now we are sleeping too.

Don't wake up."

A small droplet fell onto the last line, as his vision grew blurrier. Taking his glasses off, Keitaro cried. Cupping his face in his hands, he let out a few sobs, still clutching the picture. _They're gone… They're really… dead… _He peered out between his fingers. _I never told them how much they meant to me… _He looked at the photo again. _They still cared for me, even though they were annoyed at me trying to go for Toudai each year…_ Sniffing once more he began to wipe his eyes. _I can't break down now, everyone needs me… I have to protect them. _He breathed on his lenses and starting wiping them against his top. _The only destination now is Okinawa, and we need to get a boat there. We have to get to Osaka then, to the main port… _He stood up and put his glasses on. _We're the only ones left… _Tucking the photo in his bag, he opened the door and, taking the last ever look at his room, left, closing it behind him.

**Keitaro's home  
Living Room **

The mood was sombre; everyone had their own demons to conquer and their worst fears too. Some had seen family members killed, or worse, Infected. The others had seen it happen to so many other people, but were too weak or afraid to help, and perhaps wanted to stay alive than risk their lives for strangers. Keitaro could see the emotions on everyone, each reliving the worst of the past few weeks he'd been in hospital.

At times like these, friends are needed to keep ourselves sane… He smiled at them, as a few began to look up at him. "Everyone, let's get going now. I've said my goodbyes, there's no need to stay here any more."

Haruka smiled back, seeing the change in her nephew. _He finally knows what it means to have friends. _She fumbled about her back pocket for a packet of cigarettes, but found none, and sighed. Seta idly handed her one from his. She gave him a look, but her eyes were humorous.

Keitaro's smile seemed to brighten the atmosphere, dissipating it completely in an instant. The veil of mourning had been pulled away and now the others wanted to smile too. Shinobu, especially tearful for Keitaro when he went into his parent's room, had the largest smile in the room. Naru and Mitsune also cracked a smile, Motoko relaxed more and smiled too. Sarah instead stopped looking scared, which was quite something considering she hadn't once been calm since everything started. Seta was smiling as usual, inwardly proud of Keitaro.

"Let's go then part timer!" He said cheerfully.

"Seta-san!" Keitaro replied, closing his eyes with a half-whiney voice, "I'm not your part timer still!" He saw everyone looking at him and lots of held back laughter came to his ears. "Fine…" He acted as if he were scolded and started to sulk.

"Come on nephew, we're going now." Haruka smirked at him, her cigarette now lit. She holstered her bag on her shoulder. "Keep a look out for Infected, we're not out of the city yet, and there's lots of places for them to hide."

"Right."

Keitaro had his katana at the ready, the sheath was latched around his back, the handle reaching his left hip, to be pulled out quickly using his right hand. Motoko likewise had a thumb perched on the hilt of her own. Seta and Haruka pulled out their weapons and opened the door, scouting the immediate area around them. The rest followed them out, Motoko and Keitaro at the rear of the group.

**Outside Keitaro's home **

Reaching the van and motorbike, Haruka climbed into the driver's seat this time, and unlocked the door for the other side, and the side door. Letting everyone in, Sarah dropped her bag on the floor, and a metallic sound resounded over the area. Everyone paused, waiting for the screams, which didn't come, and quickly hurried into the van. Keitaro and Mitsune were the only ones outside.

The sound of a single Infected echoed down the street, panting like a dog, except with blood coming out of his mouth instead of saliva. Mitsune, who was about to put her helmet on prepared a sake cocktail to throw at him, Motoko, who was already in the van, began to pull out her katana using her thumb. Keitaro held a hand out to his left, stopping her from exiting the van as he stared at the incoming creature.

He turned back and smiled genuinely. "Leave this one to me." He spoke calmly and surely, and he strolled forwards.

"Urashima! You can't fight him!" Motoko had to be held back by Seta and Haruka.

"He'll be fine…" Haruka said neutrally, knowing that wanting to fight, especially with that blade, would only be fatal for those who fought against the wielder. "It's been a while since the blade was in the hands of an Urashima, it's about time for it to be unleashed…"

Mitsune watched as Keitaro got further in front as the Infected got closer. Jumping, its arms outstretched, it tried to aim for his neck to bite him. Sporting a sinister smirk, a single fang visible, Keitaro grew darker as his sword arm did the talking. A long cut upwards, and the Infected remained hovering in the air, a red line across its right arm and leg. A left downward sweep to the middle of the line from the top right, and finally a right downward sweep from the middle again, to the bottom right.

The Infected was now emblazoned with a red 'K' on its front from the slash marks, as Keitaro sheathed his katana and moved away, once it clicked into its holder, the character exploded, flinging the Infected back several metres, now alight from the fire.

"Then again…" Haruka began, Keitaro's face normal in the sun, but when he passed under a shadow from the trees, it changed to show an evil, malicious grin, as he began walking back to the van, "The problem is the blade's unique aspect…"

Motoko was in awe by the power shown by the sword, and how it's ki had enveloped Keitaro. "What's that then Haruka-san?"

Haruka was mute for a second. _Should I tell them? It might frighten them… _She saw Motoko staring at her, along with Naru and Shinobu. Seta had also heard of the legends too, but never saw it in action before.

"Well, it had a… colourful past shall we say…" Haruka shook her head. "But I won't go on about that. The thing is, the blade now possesses cognitive abilities, to remember things, and this means that it has attained intelligence." Keitaro was too near to the van to continue talking much further, so Haruka summed it up. "In short, it now has its own soul…"

This stunned the others into silence. Motoko could not believe that such a story was true, and was about to contest it before Keitaro clutched the door, startling the girls in the back.

"You all okay? You all look worried…" He asked, the shadow permanently gone from his face.

Indeed, Shinobu was a very pale, and Naru was shivering slightly, Motoko was also a tad paler, but most of her body was paralysed. _What if he attacks us now, I have to be able to make my move… But… I can't move my arms or legs… _He sat down next to Motoko, once more leaning against the window. By the way Haruka was acting, completely natural that is, Motoko grew calmer and felt more at ease, and her limbs began to function normally. _It seems that it's only during battle the blade's ki is activated… Otherwise Haruka-san would not be so composed about the presence of such a dangerous weapon._

"Everyone ready?" Seta asked, as Keitaro slammed the door shut. He took the quiet to be a positive answer. Haruka looked out of the van to Mitsune and gave her the thumbs up. She responded in kind, and put her helmet on and mounted her bike wearing her leather outfit suited to more masculine bikers.

**At that moment  
Keitaro's home **

Starting their engines once more they sped off into the background as the view shows their retreat, and passes over the fence into Keitaro's path, and through the window. The serenity of the home came across in the pastel tones it was depicted, over each childhood photo and memory. Passing through the wall to his room, it showed the same layout as we saw before, his bed, desk shelves and anime posters, even some drawings of his.

A small tremor was heard and the view passes through the wall again, this time to the parent's room. Blurring as it passed over the deceased parents; it focused on the ceiling as a small crack appeared, then, tiny particles of dust began to fall, as the cracks grew. A large crash was now heard, the view angled to the right to show the window opposite the bed to show a large plume of dust, debris and smoke. Another crash, and then footsteps were heard.

The view started, and then jerked suddenly to the left, where the closed entrance was, slowing as it came into view. A few more steps were heard, then nothing, the door opened a tad, then fully, however whatever was behind the door could not be seen, as the view reacted harshly. It became filled with static and collapsed to the ground, and all that could be seen was a pair of legs entering the room, clean cut black shoes. The footsteps padded to a still, and the view began to recover, and got up off the floor, clearing through the static. The sound wasn't affected.

"Otouchan… Okaachan…"

The view cleared immediately to show drops of blood landing on the carpet, then panning up fast over the legs, then waist, and then shoulders of the person standing there. Tears of blood were pouring over the cheeks of the figure, despite there being no wound in those purple eyes.

Kanako stood contemplatively by the bed of her dead adoptive parents. _At least they died peacefully… _Looking around the place, she noticed that the room had been disturbed recently. Going on a hunch she walked into Keitaro's room and saw that the bed had been sat on recently, it was still warm. _Oniisan was here… _She could tell that most of the room had otherwise been left untouched. Her vision became red with blood as she began to cry more, picking out another tissue from her pocket, she dabbed at her face and wiped her eyes, and cleaned away the streaks of blood that remained. Holding the tissue now soaked in blood, she scrunched it up and threw it in Keitaro's bin. _Where would he go now? _She recalled the manager's portfolio from Hinata-sou. _That's right, he was probably going to Okinawa. If I'm going to find him, I'll have to go there…_

Her sad face distorted once more. _Then I can have him… He'll be all mine… _She stood up and was about to leave the room when one picture stood out from the others. It had a boy sitting next to an even younger girl, with a large fringe over her face, and also a familiar antenna with a kink in the middle, though smaller than the one the owner currently has. Stopping, Kanako picking up the frame and removed the photo. _I've never seen this one before… _Hugging it close to her chest, she sighed happily, but felt a familiar twinge coming back, so she quickly put the photo in her bag before her muscles began to contract, grinding her teeth and storming out of the house with jerking movements. She walked past the parents room, where a giant gaping hole in the wall, and nearby lay a huge driver's cabin of a trailer. Which had smashed into a small shed from the neighbouring house. Sensing no Infected around her, she climbed into the cabin and turned the ignition key, applying lots of pressure to the accelerator, crushing vaguely human, and knocking out any obstacles that got in the way.

Meanwhile  
Approximately 10000 feet above north Tokyo Prefecture 

"Target Acquired." An electronic male voice announced. "Distance to target: 30 Kilometres. ETA at current speed: 50 Minutes."

"Good." Another voice said. The speed indicator was reading 'M2', and was obvious as the speed of the changing land below, and the fact that any humans left alive would hear a roaring sound and a distinct object streaking across the sky in an instant.

50 minutes later  
10000 feet above Hinata Springs

"Slowing to landing speed." Pulling out of Mach 2, the flying vehicle slowed to a mere 500miles per hour and began its descent into the city. Reverse thrusters slowed it further to 200miles per hour, and, bracing for impact it crashed straight into a road. The humongous shockwave that followed created a sphere of devastation around it, buildings exploded and debris flew in all directions, road and tarmac upturned, and around five blocks completely knocked flat. The point of origin was deep underground.

Thankfully, it had transformed before hitting the ground, looking akin to a space shuttle pod for re-entry into the atmosphere. Releasing steam, it began to sprout legs and arms, and then crawled out of the hole it plummeted into.

"Where's Hinata-sou?" The operator asked.

The electronic voice answered. "Hinata-sou located 106 degrees west, 26 degrees above ground, to a height of 250 feet. Distance, 600 metres."

"Let's go there." The operator pressed some buttons and the machine moved and started walking in that direction.

The eerie screeching began around Hinata Springs. "Warning. Multiple incoming hostiles." The arms of the machine sprouted mean looking weapons on either hand. "Orders?"

The operator didn't hesitate once. "Kill all the Infected that try to attack, and don't let them stop us getting there. Leave the humans, if there are any left…"

The voice started up again. "Acknowledged. Primary objective: Reach destination, Hinata-sou. Secondary objective: Elimination of contaminated humans that attempt contact." The arms began to glow a bright green, as the legs began to flex, as if ready to sprint. "Execution of primary objective initialising. Secondary objective in high alert mode: Weaponry online and charged. Self-defence mode on, assigning targets."

On the multitude of screens inside the machine, the Infected that grew larger on the displays now were illuminated with red crosshairs on them. Bursting forwards, the legs of the machine made huge strides towards Hinata-sou, running at speeds no human could even dare to compete with.

The arms locked on to the first target closest to them, and began to fire its machine gun, ejecting the bullets from the side of the arm onto the ground. Screaming with pain, the Infected were down from the instant kills, but their cries brought more Infected as the buildings now had streams of them trying to attack this monstrosity.

Calculating the chances of large kills, the robot made a choice. "Deploying anti-personnel missiles." The back pulled away showing row after row of small holes, which were then filled with small objects. After a second, they flew out of the back, each one locked on to an individual Infected, or group. Detonations followed soon after as each enemy was pulverised by the military might.

The waves of Infected were pushed back by this offensive as the machine continued running through the streets. The target scanner found multiple enemies in the surrounding streets ready to jump out. The palms of the robot opened up to show two barrels with concentric rings around them. Green lightning began to course between them cumulating at the tip of the barrel, a small ball being created or green energy. The plasma laser shot out from both palms at either side of the robot, slicing straight through the buildings around it. A burning sound from the high temperature beam could be smelled, before the dust from the small building that began to topple from having their supports cuts straight through. The scanner show no more alive enemies as the beam neatly cut through all of them, their corpses now in half but not bleeding due to the cauterising from the immense heat from the plasma.

"Just a few more blocks to go…" The operator mumbled.

**10 minutes later **

"Approaching stairs to destination."

Sure enough, the nostalgic appearance of the misty stairs up to Hinata-sou were in view, but so was the huge group of Infected lying in wait for the robot.

"Charge through them!" The operator shouted.

"Acknowledged." The robot grew large blades on it arms, and went straight into the group cutting, dicing, and chopping off various body parts of the Infected, all the while getting closer to its target.

"Launch upwards and start scanning for survivors."

Blasting off from its feet, sending the other Infected away with the fire from its feet, the rocket propelled robot flew over the steps, all the while checking for any non-Infected human using the radar and Rage detector. Landing at the top of the steps, it told the bad news.

"No non-Infected human present here. Incoming hostiles from the building."

This is bad… "Okay, get to my room, I need some things before we leave… Go via the outside." Tapping in the security code for the alarms and other anti-burglar devices, the window opened automatically for the machine to get in. The front opened up and out, a small step extending out to let the occupant (who was wearing green camouflage gear) walk onto the ground.

Looking around, Kaorra Suu wiped her face of the sweat she was building up. _No one's here then… Where did they go? _Walking into more of the leafy jungle, she uncovered a bush that hid a familiar logo, one that implied radioactive material was present. Pulling out a console nearby, she began to type into it. _I need to build this into the back; the battery won't last long._

Sighing deeply, she began to dismantle the necessary components, as the Infected roamed outside her room, unable to get in due to the metallic door in the way. Pulling out a small compartment below the mini rocket launchers on the back, she removed the hundreds of AA type batteries from the slot, throwing them on the ground. Soldering the wires into the unit, Suu bit her tongue in mild humour at the ease at which she was performing such a complicated procedure, merging new power sources.

The banging on the door increased a little as more Infected arrived outside. Paying them no notice, she moved the miniature nuclear reactor carefully into the open gap, and then powered it up by flicking a switch. Moving to another one of the trees in her room, she removed some bark and, with a metallic extending arm, removed a glowing green tube. Handling it slowly, she inserted it into an open area of the reactor, closing the hole once the luminous material was inside.

The increase in humming meant that the plutonium was heating up, creating the steam required to power the various cogs and gears needed to run the Mecha Tama Unit X. The form of the beast appeared to be that of a turtle standing up on its hind legs, but was more agile than its former compatriots, the limbs sleeker and more polished than the rest of its body. The arms where the blades had the blood of the Infected on them due to the blade attacks in the latter part of reaching Hinata-sou.

Suu double-checked inside the seat monitors, and was pleased to see that it was now running under the reactor's power, no longer the disposable batteries she was using before. She smiled a little and walked away into her room further, noticing that her leaves were showing signs of lack of upkeep, they were mostly brown and withered away. The pond was a stagnant green from not having any oxidisers thrown in, nor keeping it flowing by the occasional dip inside it. She picked up more personal items, mostly those with the triple eye symbol on them.

Where is it? Her usually organised brain couldn't remember where she left her masterpiece that she created so long ago. Rummaging about further in the trees, she found the item, a seemingly ordinary pocket watch. _Found it… _She grinned broadly, showing some semblance of her old self. _I couldn't make one like in back in Molmol; they didn't have the raw materials… _Walking to the mecha, she kneeled in the seat and removed the headrest, exposing another niche in the body of the robot. Pressing a switch nearby, a small tray opened out like a typical CD-ROM, one the exact shape and size of the watch. Lying it on its back, the top with the button facing outwards, she pushed the switch again and it slid in, a satisfying click indicating it had been accepted.

Grabbing a few more very personal things, such as photos and whatnot, she stored them behind her chair, which already had some food stored there. Wanly looking back at her room as her hair covered her face as she sat in the chair of the mecha, she pulled a lever to her right, causing the Mecha Tama to close the main hatch. As the door moved upwards, the shadows deftly hid a small tear that fell to her lap. Hissing from the locking mechanism, Suu looked at the monitors around her, showing the Infected outside her door thanks to the x-rays of the building, and the power status glowing reassuringly on the top right in small writing and visual indicators.

Placing her arms inside those of the mecha, she began to manipulate the controls from there, switching to different modes of the view, from the house, until she decided to take action.

"Activate the Keitaro Radar, and place the 3D map onscreen."

A slight whirring behind her head meant the top button on the radar had been pressed, and the resulting dot had now appeared, and the radar itself was moved into an upright position to show the exact bearing to Keitaro. Gripping the hand controls, the screen now had the smooth yellow dot pointing on the very left. Making the mecha turn to her left, the dot now moved slowly into the middle, moving only slightly. _So, he's alive… _Images of maps appeared now and scaled to match the location of the dot.

"Have the bearing of the dot match the line from us to the target."

The screen morphed into an overhead map now, a red line coursing over the landscape of the south of Tokyo, not stopping anywhere. Testing it, Suu made the mecha turn, and sure enough, the bearing stayed the same, with the turtle logo now facing in the wrong direction.

Finally ready, she made it jump out of her room, landing outside the entrance of Hinata-sou. Putting a seatbelt on, she began to pull at several levers, twisting certain one, and pushing them in. As the Infected ran out to greet them, the Mecha Tama X transformed once more into a plane of sorts, with Suu in the cockpit. Within moments, they had taken off vertically and launched off in the direction shown by the radar.

Soon… We'll be together… Keitaro… Suu smirked as she increased power to the thrusters, leaving the Infected screeching up at the now empty skies in frustration.

**Meanwhile  
Tokaido Highway **

Once the main path connecting East and West Japan, it had tarmac laid over it, and the national road was created. Dodging through the still vehicles, a lone white van and motorbike kept on moving sullenly past debris and bodies. Reaching the first tunnel, the van stopped, the motorbike a second or two later.

"I don't like this…" Keitaro began. "It's too dark…"

Sure enough, the vast quiet and foreboding blackness of the tunnel beckoned them.

"I too believe it is unwise to spend any amount of time in a tunnel." Motoko spoke keeping her full concentration on the edge of the darkness. "The Infected seem to… thrive… in such places…" Her own experience made her shudder, and she grew more uneasy each passing second.

Haruka took one glance at the tunnel, and at the passengers, and made a decision. "Let's go around the tunnels… It's not essential to take the quickest path by Marikofuji and Takakusa-yama." Looking to Mitsune outside, she waved her finger in a circular pattern, and she understood. The van turned around and went by the road that cut around the mountain, and the same with the next tunnel.

**An hour later  
Aichi Prefecture, just past Horai Town **

The cars began to grow more in number, and sometimes Haruka and Mitsune needed to slow down greatly to get past them.

"Something's wrong… There's far too many cars…" She mumbled.

Sure enough, a telling sign that the Infected caused more devastation emerged in front of them, from a plume of smoke. From behind it, the eerie sight of a tail fin of a jetliner came into view. The group stopped well before the crash, as the cars in front were all abandoned and clogged up the road tightly.

"It must've crashed…" Seta pondered, "Maybe one of the Infected got on the plane…"

"The fuel probably started burning everything around the crash site…" Haruka continued. As if on cue, a car exploded not too far in front of them, the bonnet flying up into the air.

"What about the Infected though?" Naru asked. "Did they die?"

"Probably, but some must have survived the plane crash if more than one was Infected." Motoko replied.

"And… The people in the cars?" Shinobu shyly popped her head into the conversation.

Keitaro could already see what had happened, as some bodies were on the road, whilst some windows were dark with dried blood from its victims. "Some tried to escape… But the others…"

"Let's get ourselves out of here, I don't like being near places like this…" Haruka stated.

Veering the van around the broken barrier at the side of the road, they drove over some countryside before reaching another road. "We'll go round Nagano, there's no need to get ourselves into more danger in there." She looked at the sky, "We need to find a place to sleep too, it's getting darker, and we need shelter away from the towns and roads, so the Infected don't catch us."

**7:03pm  
North-west of Seto City **

"Here we are…" The van stopped at an isolated spot far from any roads, where the trees were covering a small ruin or sorts, made from stone. "We can stay here for the night, no one will find us here." Haruka got out of the van and started to unpack a few warm blankets.

Seta smiled at her, but as if startled, angled his eyes to the right somewhere in the sky, turning to face that direction.

Naru noticed this sudden movement. "What's wrong Seta-san?"

He didn't move. "Something's coming this way…"

At this point everyone looked in the same direction, but couldn't see anything.

"You hear that?" Keitaro started, putting a hand by his ear as a faint whistling sound approached. Soon it became clear that the sound was more powerful, and the sonic boom above hurt their ears.

"What was that thing?!" Sara half-shouted to get over the ringing in her ears.

"That looked like a Eurofighter…" Seta remarked, interested at the shape of it. "But not a standard model…"

They would soon find out, as it began to slow down quickly and veer towards them again.

"Doesn't it look like it's trying to find us?" Shinobu asked worriedly, backing away a few steps.

Angling downwards, the plane-like object plunged towards them at high speed.

"Everyone get away!" Keitaro pulled Motoko away, as she was going to try to repel it with her sword.

The flying machine continued to plummet, only to hover above the ground neatly using thrusters from underneath it. Landing neatly in the grass, the cockpit opened up, steam rising from it obscuring everything behind it. Keitaro took a staggered step forwards reaching over slightly to get his hand near the Hina Blade.

Without warning something sprung out of the steam, only to plant a kick on his cheek, flipping him upside down and sending him crashing into a tree, falling down head first.

"Suu!" Motoko cried out.

"Hi!" She gave a little salute and walked into the group, clutching her side briefly, "How's everyone?"

"Where've you been Suu? You left over three weeks ago!" Naru half-shouted, much to everyone's surprise. Suu closed one eye and pulled her head back in a mock scolding, knowing that she didn't tell her friends where she was.

"I'm sorry…" Suu put her hands behind her head. "Oniisan and oneesan wanted me safe at home, so I went back to them, but…" She paused and looked down, her arms crossed in front, rubbing what looked to be bruises, scratches and other wounds. "I wanted to come back…"

Shinobu saw the marks on her body. "Kaorra… What's wrong with your arms?"

It became obvious that all, including Keitaro (having got up from the floor) started to look at her injuries closely.

"What happened to you Suu?"

Concerned, Keitaro walked up to her and kneeled in front of her, peering closely at her arms, removing a small medical box from his backpack. He took out some plasters for the still raw wounds, and alcohol and cloth to wipe away any infection from the surrounding area of the bare flesh. Wincing, Suu smiled at Keitaro, who was too busy administering to her to notice.

"I wanted to come back…" She repeated. "I didn't want to leave you here all alone." She glanced back to her creation. "I built that whole thing from scratch in three weeks." Turning back to see their astonished looks, she grinned further. "It took me a while since all my useful stuff was here, but I did it, although I kept pushing myself too hard…" She rubbed a particular spot above her left hip. "I couldn't waste any time, so I ignored safety protocol, and sometimes things didn't work properly…"

Keitaro tenderly lifted up her top a little, after checking back visually to see if he had permission from Naru and Motoko, who both nodded inconspicuously. What he saw shocked him so much, he let go and fell backwards.

"Suu… Why…?" He stood up and patted her head.

"Because I missed you all." She smiled again, some wisdom conveyed in the lightheartedness of her voice. "I'd do anything to see you again, Keitaro, Motoko, everyone…"

"A… Are you tired? We're about to set up camp and sleep here for tonight." Keitaro gave her a brave smile.

"Sure, just let me do something first." She pulled out a remote control from her pocket, aimed it over her shoulder and pressed a button on it. Sure enough, the plane transformed into the familiar figure of the terrors she created back in Hinata-sou.

"T… Turtle…" Pulling out her katana, she nervously stared at it, ready for any attack it'd make.

"It's okay…" Suu reassured her. "I've set it to kill any Infected near us."

At that point, all realised how lethal Suu's creations were, Keitaro was invincible when attacked by them, but if used for actual battles… They shuddered to think of the power it holds. The more menacing look it had on its face didn't calm them down either.

"Right, let's try to sleep then." Seta declared, clapping his hands together. "I have a small tent inside, but can only hold one adult, but you three," He indicated Suu, Sarah and Shinobu, "can fit in it. The rest of us stay outside in the shelter, and one can stay in the van if you want."

Seta and Haruka began to set up the tent, their movements showing that they were going through the motions of something done many times. Keitaro beckoned Suu over, talking quietly to her and walking with a hand on her back to the van. Motoko watched them out of the corner of her eye and, curious to what they were doing, followed them cautiously.

**Behind the van **

"Okay, lets see here…" Keitaro mumbled to himself.

Lifting up her top, he stared at the large bandage around her waist, covering the entirety of the left side of her body. The blood had seeped through most of the centre, spreading out to the edges of the wrapping. Pulling apart the safety pin, he began to slowly unwrap the bandage, coiling it around his hand in the process. Suu winced as more of the pressure was lifted on her belly, releasing the hold on the capillaries and threatening to bleed more. Having removed the entire roll, he stooped low to see the damage done.

He had never seen anything like this up close. A huge portion of her skin had been ripped or burned off, surrounding a straight cut that opened out wide in the middle, showing too much flesh beneath. The slice had some small stitches on the outer parts, but couldn't be attached to the middle area due to the size of the gap.

Clutching his hand and beginning to crush it, Suu's tears began to fall as the pain returned with a vengeance. Keitaro began to panic as the cut swelled and grew moister. _S… So much blood… I don't know how to stop it… _He threw open the first aid kit but couldn't find anything except more bandages. _If only I had some pills to stop the pain…_

A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked back to see Motoko standing there, looking grim. She too kneeled down to Suu's level and saw the genuine tears in her eyes, and the terrible injury she had. Reaching into her left sleeve, she removed a small sachet and proceeded to tear off a corner, place it in her hand, and to pour it on the open wound. The effect was almost instantaneous, as Suu's expression changed from both eyes shut in agony, to one of mild bemusement, as the pain lessened to a dull throb in her side. Looking a Motoko in child-like wonder, she saw her take another sachet out and poured it over the same area, gently massaging it in.

"This should stop the bleeding and encourage coagulation to let it heal better…" She looked at the middle. "This is more serious however, and needs proper medical care if we are to stop the swelling."

Keitaro peeped at Motoko and chanced a question to Suu. "How did you get this?"

Suu looked embarrassed. "I was trying to build a nuclear fuel source, so that it didn't need to recharge or refuel." She gave a chuckle. "It didn't work too well… The fission and control rods didn't want to align properly, and it grew too violent to hold…" She closed her eyes, recalling the event. "It blew up… And I covered my face as the shrapnel went by me…" Her brow furrowed. "I forgot that there was boiling water in it… It sprayed over me, and a large piece of the rod…" She looked down at the cut, which seemed to be bleeding less. Keitaro took this chance to apply more care and then wrap a new bandage around it.

"Was it radioactive Suu?" Not known much about the innards of a nuclear reactor, Motoko didn't understand much of what she said, but knew that it had harmful radiation.

The Molmol princess was quiet and looked up to growing number of stars in the evening sky.

"Suu?" Keitaro asked.

"You know…" Suu began. "Oniisan always said that our loved ones, when they die, become one of those stars…"

"Suu…" Keitaro's mood darkened quickly. "How bad?"

She stared into his worried eyes, "Exposure wasn't lethal… But I did get a substantial dosage…" There was a long pause here. "I might develop cancer…"

The silence of the two said more than mere words could. That and the fact that their expressions grew more morose by the second.

"It's not that bad." Suu continued chirpily, "It's preventable, but I'll need to start the treatment soon..." She trailed off here as the obvious effects of not being treated for cancer are often fatal. One long cat-like yawn later indicated that she was sleepy. Keitaro looked to Motoko, who gave a faint smile.

"Shall I take you to bed then?" The huge grin on her face made it apparent that she was more than happy to be carried, and so he did so, picking her up gently and taking her to the tent that Shinobu and Sarah were waiting in. She snuggled up to Keitaro on the way, eliciting a short glare from Naru during the walk. He spoke at the tent entrance.

"Shinobu-chan? Sara-chan? I'm bringing Suu in now..." Hearing no loud riposte by the blonde American girl, he unzipped the side and let Suu in, as she 'fwumped' into the small sleeping bags inside. Shinobu and Sarah were at the other end of the tent, waiting with anticipation.

Suu crawled into the bag and proceeded to snore away immediately. Shinobu too got inside her own, as did Sarah, the former worried dearly for her friend, the latter a bit annoyed that she said nothing about earlier.

"Kaorra..." Shinobu said, glancing once more at the darker skinned girl before finally dropping off.

**Later that night  
1:24am **

An agonising scream echoed through the night, as everyone, startled, got out of bed, grabbing the nearest weapon to those who were owned one. Even Mitsune grabbed a sake bottle on instinct from inside the van.

"Shinobu!?" Concerned, everyone ran to the girl's tent, only to find the light on, and Shinobu cowering in the corner, her hand covering her face as she rocked gently on her knees. Sarah was standing over her; seemingly scared out her own wits from her peaceful sleep, trying to talk to the terrified girl.

"Shinobu?" Haruka popped her head into the tent, no cigarette, but one side of her hair was unruly and threatened to spread to the rest. Seeing the form the child took, she pulled back. "Keitaro?" He looked to her. "Stay with her for now... Sarah and Suu will be staying in the van tonight."

"O... Okay then Haruka-oba-" A pillow whapped him on the head, as she dragged Sarah away, and glaring at Seta to get Suu. "It's Haruka-san."

Getting inside the small tent after the two other children left, he lay on top of the sleeping bags, trying to wriggle inside one only to find that it was a little too tight. Shinobu had calmed down a little and was no longer rocking, just hugging around her knees. She looked back to see Keitaro drifting off to sleep. Her eyes mellowed further and she slowly climbed into her own sleeping bag. Not quite noticing this, Keitaro turned over to now be facing a blushing Shinobu, her cheeks lighting up the tent above, as she faced up. She lightly tried touching his hand, and getting no response she held it securely.

"Sempai..." Tears welled up and Shinobu began to cry quietly, the streams getting absorbed into the pillow beneath her.

"Shinobu-chan..." She looked to her left and saw his dark brown eyes staring back. "Whatever it was, it was just a nightmare."

Her half-smile vanished as more tears came out. "It wasn't like that..." She looked up again. "Is it really a nightmare if it happened?"

Keitaro's heart slowed by a beat. "You mean...?"

Shinobu began her story.

**The day before  
9am  
Hinata Springs **

"Shinobu, is it good?" Maehara Takami asked.

"Mmmm" Her mouth full, she couldn't reply to her mother, who had just supplied the tasty meal.

"Okay, are your bags packed?" Her father, Sato, spoke up. "We're leaving soon, we can't live like this, and need to get away from here..."

"We know dear..." Takami began. "That's why we're ready...."

A strange whistling sounded, and everyone in the building froze. "Did you put the kettle on?"

"Well, yeah, like always..." Shocked and holding a hand to her mouth she shivered. "Oh no... How could I have forgotten so easily?"

The dreaded screeches of the Infected echoed outside, as they began to stalk their prey, hunting through nearby homes. Grabbing a gun, Sato sighed. "They'll find us soon enough, I'll hold them off while you and Shinobu get out of here."

"No!" A fist smashed through the back door of the restaurant downstairs. "You can't leave us!"

He just smiled at her and took aim at the top of the steps, firing at the first few that kicked open the door. Takami ran back into the bedroom, pulling Shinobu along with her."

"O... Otousan... Otousan is fighting them...." She stammered out, shaking with fear.

"He'll be fine..." The sad smile she gave her daughter would be one of the last she ever made. "You should get dressed out of nightie though..."

Several gunshots later, Sato ran into the bedroom too, locking the door behind him. "I'm out of bullets..." He dropped the smoking weapon to the ground and forced a chest of drawers in the way of the door. He then walked up to Shinobu. "I love you very much Shinobu, I'm sorry the divorce tore you apart..."

"O... Otousan..."

Takami continued. "I'm sorry too Shinobu, for not thinking about your needs when it was time."

"Okaasan... I love you both so much...." She gave them both a big hug, her arms around their necks and crying for what she thought would be the last time.

Some of the Infected had reached the first floor, and started to pound on the door, parts of the wood giving way.

"They're here! We have to get out, we h-" Her voice was muffled as her mother put a cloth with chloroform on it on her face.

"You must survive Shinobu..." The last thing she saw before slipping into dreamland was both of her parents hugging her back with tears in their eyes.

After placing her unconscious body inside the wall closet, clicking the door shut, the father looked to his former ex-wife and then to the door. One soft and sweet kiss later, the chest was forced back, and the view freeze-framed at the gory face of one of the Infected jumping through the door.

**Back in the present **

"I woke up confused, inside the closet…" She sniffed once as she recalled the pain. "And when I opened the door…"

She moved into Keitaro for a hug, who returned it. "They loved you then, and still love you now. They wanted you to survive and be happy. So you shouldn't cry for them any more, just be happy."

Beneath her tears she cracked a smile and hugged him tighter.

-------------  
Author's Notes

Took me a while, done my degree and got a 3rd, not the best mark, but I'll try my best anyway to find a job.

Notes on the story, I'm trying to make it as accurate as possible using map of Japan online and certain landmarks, the two that Haruka mentioned are mountains. Also, the attack that Keitaro used on the Infected is from me playing too much Guilty Gear X on PC, it's a version of Johnny's special attack (where he does a red glowing 'J' on a person), except the letter is changed to 'K'. Incidentally, the last four pages were written when I was technically homeless for 6 hours whilst moving rooms.

Also, if you have an account here, then feel free to add me to your author alert list, as it's now free to non-paying users, and whenever I update (due to my notorious gaps between new chapters) you'll receive an email.

Hope you like this chapter, during the writing I had lots of inspiration, and feel that there's some new parts to go in the 'deleted scenes' portion of my fic, which will be after the epilogue. Of course, all bets are off on when that might be… I might be another year finishing this one off too… Hope I didn't make any of you angry or depressed at what I wrote, since the category is Horror/Tragedy, things might not be happy in the end…

Enjoy the wait for the next chapter. :-)

- Jason


	6. Sorrows and Regrets

Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato

Chapter 05

Sorrow and Regrets

9:30am

A hollow sunrise a few hours earlier was unnoticed by all except Seta, who took over from Haruka for the night shift. He enjoyed bathing in the cool rays that enveloped him. Deciding that now was the ideal time to move, he got up and walked over to the tents, happy in the knowledge that the Mecha-Tama will protect them all for another few minutes. It continued to scan the area, moving it's head and walking rarely to issue a deeper scan.

Within ten minutes, everyone was up, and Seta had some breakfast made with their portable gas heater. After everyone tucked in, Keitaro and Seta began to pack away the tents.

"Yo, Keitaro?"

"Mmm?" Keitaro picked up pegs as Seta spoke to him.

"Shinobu have a good night?"

Keitaro slumped his shoulders. "Yeah, she managed to sleep at least." He gave Seta a sombre smile. "Still, that won't stop the nightmares..."

Seta nodded in reply. "I suppose... Still, being with someone special would make them less scary."

"Seta-san..." Keitaro gave a grin, "Don't say that..."

"You must've noticed it Keitaro. Shinobu thinks a lot of you..." Seta finished removing the rods from one tent, and packed them away into one of the bags. "You helped her a lot yesterday, though you probably don't know it."

"Heh... Come on... I'm just a ronin..."

"Not any more, you got in remember?" Seta folded away the tent covering and placed it in the bag. He began to help Keitaro with his. "You're not going to be able to attend Toudai ever again though..."

Keitaro mused over it mildly. "I guess you're right..."

"Come on you two!" Haruka yelled from the van. "We haven't got all day!"

"Coming!" Keitaro shouted back. They quickly finished off the last tent and went off.

Mitsune was in her leather outfit to prevent the cold, and had put on her helmet. "Ready Keitaro?" He gave her a thumbs-up and looked to Suu, who held out a remote control to her Mecha-Tama.

She pressed the button, and they all saw it stop the scanning, and transform into a hovercraft of sorts, still with the numerous weaponry pointing out the sides.

"Suu, will you alright?" Keitaro was still concerned about her massive wound in her side, and for her general wellbeing.

"Of course!" She was insulted. "Have you ever seen me ill? I'm fine, get in the van, I'll go first and blast anything out of our way."

"Okay..."

Keitaro walked off to the van, but failed to see, beneath the closing hatch, Suu coughing once, leaving a trickle of blood from her mouth. She smiled once at the departing figure of Keitaro, and spoke some words. Yet, even though her lips were moving, none could be heard. A moment later the hatch slammed shut, and the internal viewer was activated with a built in scanner. She wiped the trail and licked the remainder away, and started flicking some switches and engaging the thrusters. The vehicle moved forwards in front of the van and motorcycle. Tuning the radio she had in the cockpit, she found the frequency of the radio in Seta's van by location, and spoke.

"Everyone ready?"

This startled everyone as they weren't expecting it. Seta spoke back.

"Yep, lets go." He looked at Mitsune and gave a 'revving' symbol with his hand, and she started her engine.

Several seconds later, they were off.

20 minutes later   
In the van

Keitaro was getting bored of seeing the same old scenery, that of the beautiful countryside dotted with multiple car skeletons and corpses, the flies having a field day on each one. He rummaged inside his backpack and found the clockwork radio he swiped from the large convenience store. Charging it up by rotating the handle for two minutes, he turned it on.

"Don't bother." Haruka began, after seeing him from the corner of her eye, driving carefully behind Suu's machine. "After two weeks, all broadcasts were put off the air as everyone tried to escape."

"It doesn't hurt to try..."

Keitaro indeed found it receiving nothing but static. He moved it slowly through the lower bands, higher up. After reaching the 91 mark, he gave up and just flicked it quickly to the end. However, he noticed something strange, instead of the constant sound of static, there was a quiet portion, he flipped it backwards quickly again, and narrowed it down to one of the upper regions. He'd got the attention of everyone in the van by now with his tinkering. Trying again slowly, he went through what seemed like hours of static, until he reached a different sound, that of silence. A few seconds went by before a voice spoke.

"... I repeat, this is sub-commander Anji Uramura. We are soldiers of the JSSDF. If there is anyone alive out there, find us, we have the cure to infection right here. We are located at the tenth blockade on the main highway to Kyoto. If there are any survivors, we have the cure for infection!" The next ten seconds were silent, until the beginning started again.

"Sounds like an automated system." Seta remarked.

Keitaro looked up with hope. "Does that mean -"

"No." Haruka spoke before he even begun. "They're probably dead, if it's on a loop, they may have been killed already." Seta was quiet, as he knew this was the same possibility too.

"I think we should go there." Keitaro stated. "We're not too far from there, we could make it in a day the way we're driving."

Shinobu and Naru were scared, the cure sounded too good to be true.

"Could they have found the cure?" Naru asked, unsure. "Maybe they could protect us as well, since they're soldiers."

Motoko was suspicious. "Why are they there though? They must have abandoned their posts and hid away somewhere instead of waiting in such a dangerous area."

Sara said nothing, as she was still clinging onto Seta. He picked up the radio.

"Suu-chan, can you hear me?"

"Roger!"

"We're going to stop somewhere, find us an open space and protect us."

"No problem!"

One small, contained, nuclear explosion later, a crater appeared in front of them, but shallow enough to allow all vehicles to get out of it. Indicating to Mitsune to stop in the hole, they all converged there and got out, Suu ensuring that the Mecha-Tama was set to kill any intruders.

"What's wrong?" Mitsune asked, taking off her helmet.

"Keitaro's found a signal." Haruka answered. "Some soldiers are alive near Kyoto, and they say they have the cure to infection."

Even Suu was stunned. "Really? That's amazing!" The machine gun of the Mecha-Tama flared up, stopping short two of the Infected that left a vehicle.

"The question is..." She persisted. "Do we go look for them near Kyoto, or continue to Osaka to find a boat to get to Mutsumi? We need a show of hands... The ayes first"

Keitaro, Shinobu, Naru, Suu and Mitsune put their hands up.

"Now the nays..." Haruka sighed, already knowing the answer. She, Seta and Sara put their hands up.

Motoko kept hers down, and upon the questioning looks she got she clarified as to why. "I'm torn between getting more help and finding a cure, but also to get out of Japan as soon as possible, so I cannot make this decision lightly."

Seta smiled. "It doesn't matter, we're going there, and this time at full speed, right Suu-chan?"

"Hehehe..." She had her remote control out and everyone suspected she'd been wanting to blast more things out of the way.

"Alright then, off to Kyoto!" Mitsune shouted, putting her hand up in the air.

"YEAH!" Everyone else did the same, though Haruka had a strange feeling about this decision. In the distance, the clouds loomed over, a sign of things to come.

An hour later

"Keitaro, we're low on petrol..." Haruka mentioned.

"How bad?"

"Let's just say another 20 miles before we're in trouble."

"Hmm... Kitsune's probably got the same problem, and Suu runs on nuclear power so she won't have any trouble..." While he was musing he saw something strange in a nearby field on the right hand side, across the dual carriageway. "Hey... What's that?"

All turned to see the strange ship, a conical shape with two protrusions at the sides where jets were built in. Suu marvelled at it on the radio. "What beautiful technology! My scanners can't even penetrate that metal! Let's go see!"

"Hang on..." Naru recognised it. "Isn't that Sakata Kentaro's ship?"

"What, you mean that freak that made Shinobu and I sing?" Motoko recalled that event, but wasn't sure of how or why she became the idol a while back.

"Yeah, I remember him..." Shinobu blushed at the time he tried to seduce her, though Naru and Keitaro pushed him away.

"Okay, we're going there." Haruka veered to the left in order to prepare a sharp right turn, and picked up the radio. "Suu, give us a path to the ship."

"Roger!" She employed the use of her lasers again to cut through the barrier on the right to get to the other side, and then blasted her way through, making a relatively smooth ride into the field. Mitsune followed close behind.

Five minutes later

"Wow!" Suu was excited, even jumping up once as she couldn't hold it in. "I never got a chance to check it out last time he was here..." She was about to open the door, before being stopped by Mitsune.

"Hang on a sec... We don't know what's inside, or why it crashed." She pulled out a sake cocktail. "We might need reinforcements."

"Umm, what does this mean?" Shinobu spoke once. "Emergency Fuel Source?"

Seta ran over to it, as did Mitsune, her engine was running on 'E' for a few minutes and needed fuel too.

"Amazing!" Seta pulled open the small door and a compartment opened out showing several types of fuel, including diesel and unleaded petrol. "There's more than enough here for two trips to Hokkaido and back! We'll need to take a bit to get to Kyoto..."

"It even has my petrol, very useful..." She looked at her motorbike. "I'll need to fill it up now, and I don't think you can take these out of there..."

"No worries, I have some empty containers in the van." Seta beamed, going there to get them.

Suu went back to her Mecha-Tama, now in its battle form, ready for killing any of the Infected, and even analysing the metal of the ship.

Keitaro wondered over to the door and placed his hand on the turn-switch to open it.

"Urashima, what are you doing?" Everyone stopped and stared.

"I'm just going to go inside, see if there's anything else we need or can salvage."

She shook her head. "It's too dangerous, we don't know what's inside."

"It's okay, I have this..." He pulled out the Hina blade, the black metal glinting in the light, the ki in it momentarily flaring up. He spoke up for the others. "I'm going in for a few minutes, I'll be back soon."

"Be careful Keitaro." Haruka warned, as Shinobu whimpered behind Naru, who recognised the look in his eyes. _He thinks he'll find Kentaro dead in there, but just wants to be sure..._

Katana at the ready, he twisted and pulled out the lock, hearing a loud click, and a hissing sound as the door pushed in and slid away quietly into the hull. The corridor was well lit and clean, so he went inside, the door closing automatically behind him. He double-checked and found that it would open fine for him.

Walking inside more, he opened the door at the end of the small tunnel into a larger room. This seemed to be the living room of sorts, things were scattered about the place and it was a chaotic place, complete disarray. The television was smashed, tables overturned, and the sofa was torn up with bloody streaks.

It moved into a kitchen where several kitchen knives were missing from their holders, and the body of one of the Infected lay there with multiple stab wounds in its back, it was dead by the way its neck was broken, and by the large trophy nearby. Keitaro saw that the blood was dry, but still chose to avoid it completely.

He went into the bathroom, and saw it was relatively clean, just that the sink had flecks of blood at the edges and that taps were bloody too. _He probably tried to wash it off himself..._

He went back into the living area and climbed the metal circular staircase, through a silent metallic door, into where the cockpit was. There lay the bodies of three of the Infected; Keitaro could sense they were dead too. A handgun was nearby, its clip spent. _At least he went down fighting... _Walking past the bodies, despite the odd vibration in the blade, he saw the chair of the pilot, Kentaro.

His chair was facing outwards, but through the reflection in the dark window, he could see the blood that at one point had poured out of his mouth, his eyes closed in a peaceful sleep. From what he could see, there were many cuts on his arms and legs, but he still held one large butcher's knife in his right hand. _Poor guy... Despite his technology, he couldn't save himself..._

Keitaro turned around, lowering the blade, thought out a prayer and walked towards the door. "I'm sorry Kentaro..." He said out loud.

Kentaro's eyes opened immediately, the scarlet red irises that resulted in the thick copper-tasting tears to pour down his face. He gave a malicious grin, his teeth were more canine than usual, and more blood from his stomach poured out of his lips, leaving another fresh trail over his old one. He jerked his head around to where the sound came from, and jolted upwards, his arms beginning to contort as his muscles has major spasms from uncontrollable rage. As his fingers went through the same convulsions, the knife fell.

Time went through slow motion. Kentaro with his inhuman strength and abilities clambered over and jumped over the secure chair and ran at Keitaro, arms flailing about in a vain attempt to grasp him. As the knife hit the ground, a low pitched 'clong' echoed in the cockpit, the sound cut out too. Keitaro glanced back, and gasped to see Kentaro leap at him.

Meanwhile

The lonely highway had experienced few people travelling down it, lately there was a group of people, with one massively armed lead which destroyed anything in their way. Now there was one other going the same way.

Closely following the path of destruction, the black monster, now tarnished with many red splashes and a cracked windshield, bore on the task at hand. Its occupant was set on one thing only, though what that thing was varied constantly. The mind wasn't entirely stable before everything happened in Japan, but since then it had shattered, been reborn anew, and finally fragmented into what is now Kanako.

Seeing her dead parents, she regained what little of her sanity she had left, and of finding another precious picture of her with Keitaro, of which she knew only two photos existed now. Her eyes were bleeding almost all the time, mostly by choice as she was crying, but sometimes, not so. The pile of tissues next to her was growing higher as she thought of what she wanted the most right now.

I want Keitaro... I must have Keitaro, no matter what... She gasped, her eyes widening suddenly as her other urge grew stronger. _No... I won't... _She gripped the steering wheel harder, leaving pressure marks there as her muscles began to flex. Her jaw cracked once as she attempted to prevent the same old pattern, but it bit down and her teeth gritted hard, making her gums bleed.

She gasped, her eyes widening suddenly as her other urge grew stronger. She gripped the steering wheel harder, leaving pressure marks there as her muscles began to flex. Her jaw cracked once as she attempted to prevent the same old pattern, but it bit down and her teeth gritted hard, making her gums bleed. 

Holding it back, she placed her foot down full on the accelerator, as it ploughed faster and faster through the motorway. She had lost over half of her body to the urge, until she saw the large crater ahead. She concentrated with all her remaining strength to reach that point.

A few minutes later, she did it, the lorry was perched on the edge of the crater. She breathed a sigh of relief, putting her head on the steering wheel. She got out and examined the area. There was a couple of dead Infected there. _Machine gun fire... Odd... _She glanced back at the crater. _Then again, this whole place is strange... Could this be the work of that Suu I've heard so much about? _She was about to leave before she noticed a small purple object in the centre of the crater. Walking towards it, she noticed it was a radio. Intrigued, she turned it on, only to find that it had no power, so she started to charge it up. After two minutes, she tried again, and since it was already set on a particular band, she heard the same message that the others did. _So, there is someone else out there... Could this radio be a message to any other survivors? Why else would they leave it here?_

As she walked back to the truck, her headache erupted, and she screamed from the pain, clutching her head. Running back and placing the radio on the dashboard, she threw herself on the ground, writhing about in agony as she wrested control of her limbs, unsuccessfully. The crazy grin returned for a second, before she rolled about, into the crater, still screaming. Her left arm was now jerking involuntarily; she'd lost it. Still holding her head with her right hand, she saw her left leg tremble, and even her toes were moving erratically.

Pulling herself up with what remained of her power, she clenched her teeth, bloody tears of pain staining her top, she let out a defiant yell, almost bordering on a screech. She carried on, making the screech sounds dissipate, and soon her ki grew, slowly, then exponentially, resulting in massive cracks appearing around her. Her red and black aura ignited, along with the tarmac around her, flaming rocks flying away from her position and part of the motorway behind her crumbling from the weight of her ki.

The sheer willpower she possessed has helped her constantly on her journey, but she knew she was losing the battle and that soon, one day, she would not be able to fight back. She made her ki grow further, so that even nature began to grow afraid. Clouds formed overhead from the atmospheric pressure she was creating, and a short burst of rain, along with thunder and lightning flashed around her.

Feeling her left arm again, and the other parts of her body, she gasped, and stopped summoning her ki, the shock making her drop to her knees as she kept her eyes on the sky. The rain stopped and the clouds parted in such a way to create what is known as the fingers of God, one of which illuminated Kanako only. Falling forwards onto her hands, she cried into the ruined tarmac beneath her, the tears leaving small red blobs on the cracks.

Meanwhile   
Outside the ship

Seta wiped his forehead. "Well, that's sorted out then!" He managed to fill up the van, and the spare tank with lots of petrol. He helped out Mitsune refill her motorbike, and get some replacement fuel for her too.

"Thanks Seta, I needed that." She turned on the engine to check and smiled when it hovered past the 'F' mark.

Naru spoke to Haruka, "Why do you think Keitaro left that radio there? I know he has two spare but -"

"For someone to find the cure with us." She cut in. Naru, not understanding this was confused. Haruka looked to her with a steady gaze. "Kanako, his sister. Probably the only other person in Japan he wants to save..."

"Talking about Keitaro, I wonder what he's doing?" Seta pondered, looking up at the ship.

At that moment   
Inside the ship

Keitaro currently wasn't thinking about why he left the radio there. He wanted to save his sister, and already knew that.

He only wished he could figure out how to save himself.

He was on his back, the slavering Kentaro above him having punched his katana away. Keitaro was struggling to hold his hand, which seemed to have sharper and deadlier nails on them, and of course avoiding any blood drops.

Seeing Kentaro pause for a second he looked up to see a half-perplexed expression, along with some strange guttural sounds. The horror Keitaro felt at that moment he hoped he'd never have to go through again. Wrenching his hands, he pushed Kentaro off him with all his might, and threw him to his left, using his foot for the extra effort. As Keitaro scrambled over to the Hina blade, Kentaro threw up copious amounts of fresh blood on the ground.

Now armed with a weapon, Keitaro felt bolder, but not any better. _I don't want to kill him... _The katana had other ideas though, and began spreading its ki to the hilt, and even grabbing control of his hands. He didn't notice this however, as he was staring in shock at the Infected Kentaro. It had now finished emptying his stomach, or what remained of his stomach having long since pureed most of his internal organs during his starvation, when no one had appeared for a few weeks. His eyes were no less sharp as he gave the former ronin a cutting glare, one that Keitaro was not used to even during the times Kentaro used his charm and wit to try to win over Naru, then any other woman he had contact with at Hinata-sou.

Of course all his attempts failed. Maybe because all his algorithms for calculating what they really looked for with regards to love were never exact, given that women's emotions changed as frequently as the weather does in England, at a moment's notice.

Yet, the only thing that rampaged through his mind was that of tearing the human object in front of him into many tiny pieces, first by removing the head, then the arms... For some reason, it felt another emotion, jealousy. The Infected usually weren't subject to that particular feeling, but this one did. It was due to the inherent emotion present in the normal Kentaro, who by the end of his life near Hinata Springs (and the end of his life in general) his green-eyed fury for the dorm manager increased ten-fold. Keitaro of course wasn't to know this, Kentaro frequently teased him that he had no money and was a worthless person to be manager and surrounded by girls. Eventually, Kentaro realised that he was describing his current self, and this only made him burn inside.

Lunging once more, with the arms angling for a view to grab Keitaro's head, he missed once, as his target dodged to his right, rolling on the ground away from the bloody claws. The Hina blade vibrated once more, eager to let its power out. Keitaro noticed this and didn't like it one bit. _What's it doing? _He saw Kentaro leap at him, again with one arm higher than the other to rip the head off. Keitaro ducked and rolled forwards. An agonised screech could be heard as the Infected grabbed its left wrist, blood gushing out in spurts in accordance with the pumping of the heart. Keitaro inadvertedly cut his hand off by having his sword arm held upwards.

"Oh my God!" Keitaro was shaking now seeing his one time friend in such pain. "Are you -"

"GRAAAH!" Kentaro ran, disregarding his lost hand as he ran at the thing he hated the most.

Keitaro closed his eyes as the sound of flesh came into contact with steel. Kentaro had impaled himself on the blade, the tip buried through his torso and out the other end. Kentaro gurgled more as the blood started to pour from his wound onto the already stained floor as he couldn't summon up any more strength to grab Keitaro. The tip of the blade began to light up, a tiny spark from it led to a small flame burning on the edge.

Keitaro opened his eyes, seeing his friend was already close to death in his undead state. He was crying fully now, tears pouring over his cheeks, much like the creature in front of him, except that they were clear, and not blood.

"Like I said... I'm sorry I couldn't help you Kentaro..." He looked down. "I considered you a friend... The last thing I can give you, or your body, is release from this suffering." He closed his eyes in another silent prayer. "Sayonara Kentaro..."

Instantly, the flame spread to the whole of the black metal, and Kentaro was aflame now, writhing in pain. Keitaro pulled out the blade quickly, took a few seconds to see that it was still crying inside the fire. Kentaro looked at his last friend, and a flicker of his old self came back, before he screeched again from the pain. Keitaro shut his eyes, and as if by reflex, he sliced Kentaro's head neatly from his neck. It rolled on the floor and stopped, still alight, and gave a hollow look at the person who defeated and killed him.

Keitaro left the room, his glasses turning opaque. The blade had tried to grab more of his arm, but he put a stop to that by his will. Going down the stairs he picked up a tea towel from inside one of the cupboards, and began to clean the blade. The fire had made it difficult to scrub off, but he did it by adding some water from the tap. Now reflecting his image in the dark sheen, he sheathed it for the next battle. He went to bathroom and gave himself the once over in the mirror, and miraculously couldn't see any blood on him. Leaving the rooms, he returned to the corridor.

Meanwhile   
Outside the ship

"Well, we're all done here...- " Seta clapped his hands together from the dust that he picked up from the jugs; they weren't cleaned for a while.

He didn't finish what he said as Keitaro came out of the doorway. Motoko, Haruka and Mitsune went for their respective weapons, just in case. He walked straight into the van without saying a word. Everyone had stared and watched him go by, but couldn't say anything to console him, his face was that of a man who had lost something precious.

Motoko was the first to get out of her trance, and half-jogged to the van. Upon reaching it she slowed down and peered inside. "Urashima, are you okay?"

He acknowledged her and looked up, the sun moving off his glasses revealing his puffy eyes beneath. "Yes, I'm fine Motoko-chan, thank you..."

She nodded once, and was about to move off before Keitaro placed his hand over hers. "Could you stay with me for a while... I'm..." He began to cry again, no big sobs or anything, but enough to make Motoko crack from her cold exterior to open up her inner, fragile self. _He's lonely..._

Motoko said nothing and sat beside him, quietly holding his hand as Keitaro cried for a few minutes. _I was the first one to find him, alone in Tokyo... He never cried when he saw all the dead people, though he was terrified of the Infected. Kentaro was a lowlife, but he didn't deserve to die... _She glanced at him, but found him looking away, as if embarrassed to show tears. _Did I cry when ane-ue died? No... I had to run... I took a memento of her though... _She felt for and found the katana with two bells on it, making them jingle. _Keitaro seems too heart-broken over seeing a dead person anyway... Someone who made his life hell... He even killed Naru-sempai's sister, but he didn't know her... Could it be...? _She glanced back to see his hands, and sure enough, saw signs of a struggle. _They seem tired and agitated. His clothes seem a little ruffled too... _She looked at him in a new light. _Poor Keitaro..._

Eight days ago   
Hinata-sou

The radio's been down for a few days now... It must be true. She heard some human screams in the town below, mingled with screeches, which were slowly growing in number. _People are dying... And some are turning into these things... It's like an infection..._

She heard some human screams in the town below, mingled with screeches, which were slowly growing in number. 

Motoko was the only person left at Hinata-sou, she still had a reason for living there... _I might have to kill humans... This seems inevitable -_

She saw one. She was inside her room, looking out to the city below, but one was perched on the brink near the steps below. She saw it lunge at a man running away and started ripping at it before throwing up over him. Motoko was nauseated by this, but the shock came back as she saw the man shake and soon stood up, and acting the exact same way as the one that attacked him. They both were acting as if in a pack, and the attacker ran off to chase a woman in the street.

However, the now Infected man happened to look up, and stared directly at Motoko. He started up the many stairs. _So, they spread by their own blood... _She ran downstairs to see off of the Infected. One minute later, she had met him as he reached the top step. She was poised at the entrance and the wind blew across them, making her hair flutter over her face. The Infected didn't care for ceremony, and just screeched once, lurching forwards and jerking his limbs sporadically. Motoko crouched down in a stance designed to pull the sword out quickly. When he got over halfway, she pulled it out along with her ki.

"Hi Ken, Jigoku No Ryu!"

A large ball of concentrated wind flew out. It morphed into the maw of a dragon, which looked threatening, eager to eat something. It plunged straight into the Infected, carrying him up into the air and then twisting to aim for the ground. It then drilled him into the earth outside. Motoko walked over to the body, the large hole in his chest was proof of how devastating the technique was. She had only used it once before, on a demon. Its obvious strength advantage is counter-balanced by the time it takes to build up the ki, and of course, allowing the demon to get close to you, a risky task.

However, this was not a demon.

She saw that it was a person who was no older than Keitaro. He was wearing casual clothes, and from what she could see, from the bottom of the steps, he was running away too, and he had a rucksack with him which the Infected tore off. He was quite dead, the eyes now a lifeless reminder to those who would pass him by that he was once, only a normal man.

Motoko dropped her sword in disgust. _I killed a man... An ordinary man... _Her hands began to bleed from her vision, as she saw the man's tears of sadness destroy one part of her psyche. _The Shinmeiryu is used to eliminate the demons from this world... Instead of that, I murdered someone with one of their legendary techniques... _Somewhere in the heavens, the clouds gathered together, letting the rain fall upon the scene. _He was Infected, he had to be killed... _Despite this obvious truth, she continued to inflict more self-hatred on herself. _Yet, he was a man, a human... I should not have tarnished my name further... _She was referring to the time when, in the past, the last man was killed under the Shinmeiryu, amongst the burning fire of Kyoto.

She had wanted to bury the poor individual in another place, yet knew that the risk of touching the blood was too great, and considering the fact that he was covered in it, it didn't give her much hope of doing so without getting some on her clothes. She grimaced at the body and looked up at the grey skies over Hinata Springs. The rain would prevent her from burning his body either. What she ended up doing, as the rain grew to a height, she took out a spade from the janitors closet, which hadn't been opened since Keitaro wound up in hospital, and buried the man where his body died (and not his soul, which was at the foot of the steps). Shovelling dirt over him, Motoko bore on in the unending rain, trying to give him some dignity in death. Soon, he was no longer in sight as the earth merged with the muddy ground around it, making it indistinguishable from the other parts.

Standing there for half an hour afterwards, she said a long prayer for the fallen, and for the sin she had committed. Going inside Hinata-sou, she did something she was unaccustomed to.

She cried.

Back in the present

I cried for a day... I couldn't figure out why, until now... Keitaro seemed to stop as he unsubtly tried to hide that he had been crying by adjusting his glasses with both hands, casually rubbing them up and then down his cheeks. _Keitaro and I have both killed someone... We didn't mean to, but it was necessary for us to live. He must've killed Kentaro too, as he didn't really kill the Infected from the other time, the ki had taken over then. Only when the will is strong does another, invading, body hide away. _Motoko looked back to give a knowing look at Haruka, who beckoned to the others to get to the van and motorbike. _The next time I killed, it was a girl three days later, but I felt nothing... A part of me had died... _She stared at her hands, and still saw the blood of the man on them. _Will I ever be free of this curse?_

Keitaro seemed to stop as he unsubtly tried to hide that he had been crying by adjusting his glasses with both hands, casually rubbing them up and then down his cheeks. Motoko looked back to give a knowing look at Haruka, who beckoned to the others to get to the van and motorbike. She stared at her hands, and still saw the blood of the man on them. 

The next few minutes went by in silence, people piling into the van, starting up and leaving the ship to its lonesome, never to be disturbed, for a short time at least.

Several hours later   
South of Kyoto

"I don't believe it..." Haruka let her jaw drop, making her as yet unlit cigarette fall onto her lap.

"My God..." Even the unflappable Seta was staring as if it were a bad dream.

"Is... Is that Kyoto?" Shinobu spoke between the tense silence.

"It must be..." Motoko replied, "Without a doubt, that is certainly Kyoto..."

"The whole city... The whole of Kyoto..." Keitaro couldn't bare to look at the place he visited on his travels.

"With no one to put the fires out..." Naru didn't finish her sentence due to the near blasphemy of admitting it.

As the Mecha-Tama powered by, the van and motorbike close behind it, the view panned up to see an empty stretch of highway, then, in the far distance, the horizon was blurred with what the others saw.

Kyoto was burning to the ground. The smoke had hidden most of the city in a grey haze, the licks of fire reaching above some parts as the taller buildings had long since took light. The Pure Springs Temple, the one which Keitaro had first met Mutsumi, stood above most of the others, the very tip of it burning with a passion. Without anyone left to stop them, the Infected had frightened all those who could protect others. Some fought back with fire, and soon those who did get burned, ran into buildings, and the fire grew quicker than the rise of the Infected.

Five minutes later   
On the same highway

"This is it... The tenth blockade... " Haruka spoke in hushed tones, the eerie look of the large metallic barriers with the ensuing smog from Kyoto floating in giving a sense of gloom.

Suu spoke over the radio. "I'm going in first to check if there are any Infected, follow me slowly."

They did as they were told, watching while holding their breath in case anyone jumped out at them. Thankfully none did. Suu declared it to be safe as the Mecha-Tama continued to scan the area for enemies. They all got out of the van, and Mitsune disembarked from her bike. Suu jumped out of the battle mode robot and got to the others.

"Guess what? I analysed the material from Kentaro's ship, turns out it was just an ordinary steel alloy, but he possessed a radar jammer..." She stopped after seeing mild frowns from Keitaro, who had remembered everything there.

"Sorry Keitaro..." She walked up to him and gave him a hug. "I didn't mean to...."

"It's fine Suu-chan..." He stroked her blonde hair. "I'm over it now."

Motoko didn't like the looks of the campsite based inside the blockade. _It looks like they deserted a while ago... _Their half-eaten meals were going mouldy, and ants were crawling all over the scraps to get them back to their nest. _I wonder where they ran to? _Haruka was thinking similar thoughts as she casually glanced at the place. _This smells of disuse... something strange happened here. _Seta walked to one of the van where a dead soldier lay, he saw his body had started rotting. _Eww, not a nice way to die... _"Hey, Haruka-chan..."

She threw a lead pipe at him, hitting his head. "Don't call me that!"

The small head wound began to spray blood in the same old Seta fashion, like a miniature fountain. However, the pipe hit one of the corrugated metal walls, above which, on the gantry, lay a corpse peppered with bullets, one of the Infected. The tremor caused by that led to three drops falling, straight onto Seta's head. By now, he had stopped his own bleeding, but the wound hadn't been bandaged yet. He felt it and looked up, after recognising the familiar body, he felt his heart wrenched out of his body. As Haruka turned her back, Sara was about to follow her.

"Hey Sara, come here..." His little finger twitched once.

"What's up papa?" She ran near to him.

"Sorry about not getting you out of here quick enough." His left hand began to crack the cartilage and muscles, he held it behind his back with his other hand. "I love you very much... I always thought of you as my daughter. I'm proud I could be a proper dad to you..."

"What are you saying?" Sara asked nonchalantly even though these were the words she had waiting for during her entire life with him. She walked closer.

"Keep away from me..." Seta warned, by now his other hand was reacting too.

"What?" Sara was a bit scared, he never took that tone with her, so she got a bit closer again to ask why.

"Keep away from me..." His voice rose as he knew the he would fall prey to the same pattern as everyone else who became Infected, as his mind gradually changed. "Keep away from me!" He ran to her, his arms outstretched, grabbing her roughly as his hands were no longer fully in his control, he fought back the thirst of tearing her young flesh up. "KEEP AWAY!" He carried her away and pushed her to the ground as he took the last perfectly human thoughts to get him far away from her. "KEEP AWAY!"

"WARNING! Human undergoing Infected procedure!" The Mecha-Tama bellowed out, using its jetpack to propel itself over the vans to where Seta stood, now doubled over in pain. By now, everyone was there as Suu held Sara close, the remote that the former held preventing the machine from killing Seta.

"KEEP AWAY, KEEP AW... AAGHAAAR!" Seta began to jerk and convulse, his arms making sudden movements.

"Oh my God!" Haruka cried.

The next few seconds, much was said.

"He's Infected!"   
"Target Acquired. Time Remaining, 10 Seconds until complete corruption."   
"Don't do it! He's my dad!"   
"I'm sorry Seta... I really did -"   
"Get the lighter."   
"We have to!"   
"Urashima, what are you doing? Let go of the katana!"   
"... Seta-san..."   
"Auuu... Suu..."   
"Naru, get behind me."   
"Don't kill him!"

Seta gave one last scream as his glasses broke, the red eyes beneath them had perfect sight. One of the lenses fell out as the frames fell to the ground. He snarled and launched at them, as the view darkened for the last time.

"NOOOOO!"

-----------

Author's Notes

Translation:

Hi Ken:- Secret Sword

Jigoku No Ryu:- Dragon of Hell (inspired from X/1999)

Hope that was enough suspense for you... Did 7 pages while on the bus to and from London (a four and a half hour journey each way, not bad for a bumpy ride and typing on a small palmtop), hence the overall size of 17 pages is small.

There is the subtle hint to the past mentioned briefly in my other book (Book 3 I believe...), but it's not really important if you haven't read it.

I didn't hate Kentaro, seriously, in case some try to accuse me of bashing, he was noble in some way, but too naive and arrogant to realise it. I felt he was a bit of a tragic example of what Keitaro could've been if we placed ourselves in his shoes. Talk about self-insertion... An obvious case if I ever saw one.

I bet you're all surprised too, the speed at which I came out with an update! Think of it as a one time offer, unless I get huge inspiration for the Butterfly Effect story, which is next in line for me.

Please, review this story, and give me your best, hearing praise helps me keep on my happy cloud, and constructive criticism helps me to make the story better. Oh, and no asking about what happened in the end... That'll be for the next chapter. I envision another 4 chapters for this story, and an epilogue. Then I'll be doing the deleted scenes as a separate story, two are already on the cards, I'll try and find some more from this chapter to 'create'. There'll probably be alternate endings too, but those are top secret...

- Jason


	7. Catalyst to the Cataclysm

**Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato**

**Chapter 06**

** Catalyst to the Cataclysm **

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Dedicated to Maria, my love, who is currently abroad…  
May this story remind you of my words and my promise, "I'll be with you soon…"  
**

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* * *

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**1 second later**

The sound of gunfire echoed all around them, the bullets all flying into the Infected Seta. Someone came out of the woods and slashed him across the back. He made a wet growl, and felt heat on his torso. Flames spouted out from the marks left by the weapon, and Seta burst into a fiery mass. His painful cries were heard from far away.

The Hinata crew were stunned and horrified by this spectacle.

"Pa... Papa..." Sara left Suu's embrace and started to walk to his burnt body, no part of him had been spared.

Mitsune placed a hand on her shoulder and held her in her arms, gently carrying her away from the scene. Sara wouldn't stop crying.

Keitaro turned to the apparent leader of the armed group, who moved out of the bushes in formation, covering each other and watching out for more stray Infected.

"Why did you kill him!" He screamed. His mentor of recent months had just been brutally slayed in front of him.

"You were just about to kill him yourself..." The man replied casually.

"I... was?" He stared down at the blade and noticed that his hand was covered in black ki, appearing as smoke billowing slowly from his very skin. He realised instantly what had happened. _This cursed blade... It's getting stronger..._

"You were walking in like an idiot, I had to kill him to save you." The man, as were the other soldiers, wore a camouflage gear that enabled them to blend seamlessly with the grass and other greenery around them. However he didn't have a gun like all the others.

Motoko eyed him suspiciously, as did Haruka. "How did you kill Seta-san?" The former asked.

"Just something I picked up recently." He placed the odd glove-like blades into his rucksack.

"Was it necessary to go that far?" Haruka jerked her head at the still glowing embers of Seta's clothing.

"Yes, we won't know if they're dead otherwise." He looked at the barricade and the street blanketed by smoke. "We must get out of here. Follow us."

**A few minutes later**

The soldiers had brought out two trucks, and the Hinata residents packed into the back of each. One of the soldiers was driving the van, and Suu was piloting her own Mecha Tama. They were travelling through a forest, a path weaving through the trees to get to their destination. The road was bumpy, leading to the occupants in the truck to bounce up and down on their seats. Everyone barely took notice of the surrounding scenery, which in any ordinary case, would be one of those moments everyone needs to experience once in their life. They also missed out on a somewhat lightening of the mood of the soldiers, and their strange furtive looks at each of the women. Keitaro was singled out for the harsher looks, ones that failed to hide the malice inside them.

After ten minutes, they reached the huge compound of what appeared to be royal property. The tall stone walls were now more imposing; there was barbed wire all along the top and gun battlements at strategic locations. Two other soldiers on watch opened the gates to allow them in.

The front lawn inside had now become a makeshift base, ammunition and guns were piled high, even impressing Haruka as the amount of firepower they possessed. Getting off the trucks, they saw most of the soldiers go off to some other duties; however the older girls noticed a strange, longing, look that they gave as they walked away.

The leader stood on the top step leading into the palace. "My name is Major Nakata. Welcome to our base, and the cure to infection. We have hot water and fresh food. We hope you will have an enjoyable stay here."

He beckoned them inside. Suu left her Mecha Tama in its standby state and locked it. The women and Keitaro marched after the Major into the dark entrance, not knowing what to expect.

**2 hours later  
Elsewhere in Japan**

Kanako stood at the same place the Keitaro once stood, staring up at the large ship made exclusively for the family of one rich conglomerate. She felt the tire tracks with her right hand, feeling the disturbed earth with her fingers. _This was recent... _She traced the path with her eyes, seeing that it came from the large destruction on the motorway. _That definitely was Suu's work._

She stood up and reached for her left arm, hanging limp at her side, pinching the skin of her left hand. _It's no good; I've lost use of it... _The last few hours, as she was driving, the steering grew harder, and she wondered why that was, until it was too late. The nerves and muscles were now under control of the other fragment of her mind. Soon, it fell from the wheel, and no amount of forcing it would allow it to remain there. The colour also seemed slightly different, a reddish tinge to the skin from the elbow to the hand, and the nails were growing black at the cuticles. The blackness was slowly creeping its way towards the tips, and the red past the elbow into the upper arm.

Going inside the ship, she was cautious and saw the first body. Moving carefully through, she reached the cockpit and saw a few bodies, one charred beyond recognition. Curiously it left the areas around it untouched by the flames. Crouching down, she tried to find out who it was, but she could already tell what killed it.

"The Hina Blade..." She blinked once. "So, oniichan has it." She sighed with relief. _Nothing will happen to him at least. _

She started to scavenge anything she could find from the ship, though little would be of any use in a place without electricity. She even tried reactivating the ship, but the way it landed meant that some essential systems regarding navigation and propulsion were critically affected. She contemplated repairing them, but having no head for technology, she knew she would only make things worse.

She eventually found out who it belonged to, and assumed that the burned body was that of Kentaro, as all of the other faces had matched to one of the Sakata family. _Oniichan mentioned him, and how mean he was. I'm glad he took revenge finally. _Looking to the bathroom, she walked inside and stared at the sink, blood present on the taps and basin. Paying these things no heed, she twisted the cold tap and was satisfied to see that the water was still working. Washing her hands first, she cleaned it with soap and then thought for a second, testing the hot water.

Slowly she peeled off her clothes, even they began to smell after a bit of time, and she stepped into the shower. Turning the electric shower on, she found that the water that came out was both reassuringly hot and at a high pressure. Getting some shampoo, making sure to cover every strand, she managed to keep her deep purple hair visibly gleaming. She rinsed it out slowly, letting the bubbles burst under the individual paths of water. Grabbing some conditioner, she massaged it into her scalp and left it there whilst picking up the sponge. She started soaping her lithe and athletic body as the steam in the room built up from the continued spray, leaving only her outline visible behind the fog. The moisturising pearls in the soap along with the essence of vanilla and cinnamon helped to soothe her strained figure.

Sighing once she stood in the water for half an hour letting it pour out over all her sore joints. The eucalyptus in the conditioner made her eyes sting from the scent, but it turned into a pleasant tingly feeling. Washing her left arm she was saddened to see that the black in the nails wouldn't rub off, and that the colour in the skin would still not change. Satisfied that at least she was now clean, she got out of the shower and into a towel she found on the shelf there.

Sniffing her clothes and wincing, she started to hand wash them in the sink. This took around twenty minutes, and finally wringing them out, she hanged them in the kitchen (there was a hanging metal pipe to hook on pots and pans). Thinking for a second, she went into the bathroom again and pulled out a hairdryer and started to warm up the clothes. Soon they were dry, and she put them on.

Looking around once more, she knew that this was one of the few places left in Japan that had electricity running. Reluctant to leave the luxury, she saw the ruined living room and the body, and thought that eventually someone else would find this haven, or even worse, Infected would come. Picking up her bag with pilfered items, she left the ship and returned to her lorry, after filling up from the same place that the others did.

Climbing into the driver's cabin, she felt a distinct pressure on her mind, her vision literally flickering from normal human senses, to one where all the areas around her were in a tinge of red. Any moving object, such as the trees swaying in the wind, grew brighter red, even white, and much more in focus and clearer. Blinking hard, this nightmare view vanished completely, with no trace of it returning any time soon. Placing her right hand on the wheel, she cast a scrutinising look at it. Muscles had grown all over her body from her continued fighting against the Infected, and she was able to heave the lug of a steering wheel with no trouble at all, proof of her immense strength.

The left arm remained silent by her side, but the little finger twitched surreptitiously, as Kanako moved further on in her quest to find her brother, steaming down the ruined motorway towards Kyoto.

**Meanwhile  
The palace**

Keitaro felt refreshed from the new interior and apparent luxury they were in. The palace was an impressive place; the lavish interiors were more or less untouched, save for a few parts where the ammunition were stored in countless boxes, along with bunks in rooms near the front. They had a generator that could produce a limited amount of electricity, so no internal lighting, but some floodlights outside, and a few heaters indoors.

"This is the kitchen, where we prepare our meals." Inside you could see a feast being prepared by one of the privates. "What's on the menu tonight Mito-kun?"

"Well, we have a basic ramen for starters, followed by some okonomiyaki with special fillings, and for dessert, as it's a special occasion, apple pie!"

"Sounds delicious, we're looking forward to it." Major Nakata left the room and Keitaro followed, as did the other girls who were behind him.

They started walking along one of the rich, long corridors as the sun began to cast long shadows over Japan, to a less well kept area. "This is the staff section, which is why it's not so neat." They began to walk downstairs to the side entrance. Major Nakata opened the door to a small courtyard filled with hanging bedsheets and cloths.

"This is our squad captain, Anji Uramura."

A rushing wind and panting breath could be heard, when suddenly out of the last piece of formerly white cloth came a slavering soldier, screeching wildly and trying to grab at everyone, were it not for the chain tied around his neck preventing him from getting any closer.

Everyone jumped once they saw him. "But he's Infected!" Naru cried.

"Yes, our poor foolish Captain got too close to one, so when he shot it the blood landed in his mouth." He turned to the Infected Anji, now crouched and throwing up more blood. "Mind you, it was for the better, as he had plans with whoever turned up here."

"What plans?" Haruka questioned, not liking the sound of it.

"That doesn't matter now." He was still looking in fascination at Anji. "His behaviour is interesting to watch, by studying our enemies we learn more about ways to combat them. What drives them, feeds them, and their overall purpose in the world."

Keitaro felt a chill run down his spine. _This guy is freaky… _"What… What have you found out then?"

He shrugged in reply. "No idea, but at least it'll tell me how it'll be before they starve to death." He got up. "Come, let's go."

As the girls filed out behind him, Keitaro stared at the Infected form of Anji, who was holding out an arm and looking somewhat needy. Moving closer Keitaro was about to help before Anji snapped up and tried to grab him. Taking no more chances, Keitaro left the courtyard immediately, leaving the creature visibly breathing roughly in the coming cold night.

**15 minutes later**

The soldiers were chanting for their food at the long table, drumming their cutlery hard on the smooth surface. The Hinata crew didn't join in, the shock of Seta's death still languished with them, especially with Haruka, who barely said a word since they arrived at the palace. She stared down at her empty plate, her mind full of confusing thoughts.

_I killed him… It was my fault… No one thought of or blamed me for that, thinking it happened naturally… If only I wasn't so rash… _She glanced at Keitaro his eyes half lidded, reliving horrors of his own. _I hit Keitaro since he calls me obasan, but, in truth, I am one… I may not look it, but I am, deep inside me, just an aunt… _She looked up to the elaborate ceiling, surrounded by intricate cornices. _Maybe, maybe being a mother would be something I liked. _She thought of holding Seta back in the old days, fighting alongside him against the group known as the Architect, kissing him on the beach, and dreaming about the future. _Then he went and made that stupid promise… _She slowed her breathing to stop the tears, and turned to Sara who was sat next to her. _Maybe I can make a promise of my own, to never leave his daughter without a parent again… _She placed a light hand on the blonde girl's head, who looked up in confusion. _Her eyes are still red… Poor thing… _She pulled the child closer to her, to feel her warmth. Sara let herself be dragged, but placed her face into Haruka's top, and wept silently. _Maybe I can become okaasan instead of obasan for once…_

Naru and Mitsune saw this, both harbouring similar feelings for Seta, though Mitsune's was greater in sheer need. _I already miss you Seta..._ He was probably the only man she ever loved truly, and now he was gone. _What else is there for me? No one really cares for me any more... _She peeked at Naru. _Even she is too wound up in herself to face anyone for now... _She was listening to the laughs and shouts of the soldiers, turning her mind onto more pressing subjects. _Why are we here, what is this so called cure?_

Motoko also had these thoughts, but she was analysing them further. _These men aren't normal..._ She thought back to the time when they all first met Keitaro, on the roof with only a towel to safe his blushes. Realising she too was growing redder, she shook that image out. _I figured Urashima to be a pervert, but... _

More images flooded her mind, of him begging not to be hit, running away, and the occasional hero, stopping her from falling on the roof, protecting Shinobu from something random and scary, and even making Suu laugh once more.

_... Those weren't the acts of a pervert. _She stared at the unknown soldier across her, his name, she gathered from the casual talking of the others, was Jiro. _His manners are that of a child, and... _Jiro gave Motoko a subtle look over, before angling away to talk to his neighbour. _I don't like the way he looks at me, indeed, the way they all look at us. What is their cure? _

Mito, the chef, came in with a trolley (and wearing an apron, which led to teasing from his compatriots), with the meal steaming hot in pots.

Major Nakata stood up. "Fellow soldiers, and survivors. As today is a special day." He indicated to the new arrivals with his sake dish. "We have for you an extra special meal, mostly thanks to the gifts of our guests." A light applause greeted this announcement. He then went on to describe the meal, and ended with an "Enjoy yourselves!" To which one half of the room launched into the fray, leaving the Hinata crew dumbfounded, and still somewhat unused to meeting other people apart from themselves, and not wanting to join in.

Sara was eyeing the hot okonomiyaki steaming in front of her through a thin watery barrier. Major Nakata crouched down beside her. "What's wrong... Sara-chan?" He recalled her name from when the others spoke.

She mumbled something, looking further down as some of her blonde hair fell over her face.

"What was that?" He asked again.

"She wants to bury her father." Haruka stated, pulling Sara closer to her. "She doesn't need your food, not now." Her emotions began to break through. "He meant a lot to her, as he did to me..." The unbidden tears thankfully did not fall as she glared at him. "We want to bury him."

He shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't, his body is Infected, a single drop of blood can get you." He sat at the head of the table. "Besides, outside this compound, the world is just as it used to be."

"What do you mean?" Keitaro asked, waking out of his stupor.

"I mean the same thing, what we see out there is just the same as before all of it started. People killing people. We were there when there were major riots and protests, and yes, even when there was war. What did we see? People killing people." He slurped up some ramen noisily. "This is why we can use human tactics to kill them all."

"You're mad!" Mitsune cried out, half standing. "This isn't some war game where you can use strategy to beat them. Millions of the Infected are out there, it's not killing, it's a massacre, almost complete genocide."

"Mitsune's right." Motoko interjected, hoping to diffuse the palpable environment. "Humans are almost extinct in Japan, no one else has survived. Those that did probably number no more than a few hundred, aside from those who got out with planes and boats." She looked down. "I've killed more Infected than I can count, but that is no excuse. To kill others is to kill yourself. You lose who you are inside."

All were silent by these words, though the Major persisted with one final comment. "Despite your nice lecture, you also know that without us, those that 'killed' ourselves, you would have been killed in a more literal sense."

Again, more silence, until it was broken by the distant sound of an explosion somewhere outside.

"ALL UNITS! ARMS AT THE READY! TO YOUR STATIONS!" Jiro shouted, apparently he was the second in command. Without a delay, the others jumped up and ran out of the mess hall.

The Major stayed behind. "Watch our plan in action, and marvel." He raised himself slowly and leisurely strolled away to the grounds outside. The others followed, unsure of what they expected outside.

**Meanwhile  
Outside**

"All units, FIRE!" A hail of bullets tore through several Infected now running through the back gardens. Many of them fell as the critical hits punctured their way in, yet many were still coming, attracted by the noise and lights. Those that weren't downed by the first initial wave ran on, spurred by more hatred as their injured limbs spasmed more violently.

Mito shot one dead using the turret. "I got one, I got one!"

"That's great you idiot, now kill the rest!" Jiro shouted back over the sound of his rifle.

The girls and Keitaro stared on at this scene, the same thought echoed through each of them. _Is this their cure? _Shinobu closed her eyes and buried her face in Keitaro's shirt as more Infected fell.

Sara was looking over the carnage with an uninterested and bored demeanour. "I want to bury papa..." Tears began to fall again as Haruka picked her up and walked back into the house. Mitsune and Motoko knew that they wouldn't leave this place, now that they were locked in. Motoko indicated as such to Mitsune, who nodded back. Both held their weapons tighter, the battle was only beginning. It was up to the soldiers to make the first move. Suu had spotted the two, and their body language. She coughed again and wiped away the tiny particles of blood on her lips. She could see the Mecha Tama X standing there, still powered down, glistening with the distant minefield exploding and the near gunfire. She vowed to make a difference in this battle, and started to program on her palmtop directly linked to her creation.

Keitaro sensed that all wasn't right in base camp. _This place is equipped for a war... There's no cure here. _He stroked Shinobu's navy blue hair as she continued to whimper at each gunshot and cry of jubilation or agony. _We're going to get out of here, tomorrow. _

Little did he know that that wasn't on the agenda of the soldiers.

**The next day**

The night was long; several attempted incursions by the Infected were fought off, leaving multiple corpses many grumpy soldiers by daytime. Breakfast was a boring meal, cereal without milk, with the exception of some toast and marmalade, the bread provided involuntarily by the Hinata-sou residents.

The plans of the many had fallen into motion. Today, all things were going to fall into place. The only question remaining was, whose would succeed in the end?

The Hinata girls were awake by nine, and all were uneasy. Despite having food, their stomachs still felt hungry, grumbling away, this time due to stress and, even more so, fear.

"Keitaro, mind if I have a word?"

Keitaro was surprised; Major Nakata hadn't as yet gone out of his way to speak to him. "Umm, sure..."

He held out his hand to one of the other, smaller gardens, and they both walked out there, sitting on the stone steps overlooking the various flowerbeds and trees.

"You know, it's quite beautiful here, even I feel at peace here."

"That's... nice..." Keitaro replied. "So, what..."

"Do you know how long we've been stationed at that blockade?" He interrupted. Keitaro shook his head. "Around a month. Since the first few reports of riots in Tokyo, we were called upon to stop any further spread." He sighed. "However, Infection is tough to prevent, a few plane crashes and even stowaways in ships led to Kyoto being Infected before we knew it. Our squad was taken off guard as they came at us from the opposite direction. We lost half our men." He sat up straighter. "A week after that, morale was at its lowest. Mito-kun even tried to commit suicide. That's when I came to the decision, to leave our base and come here, setting up that automatic broadcast."

Finally Keitaro could speak up. "You spoke of a cure, where is it? You don't seem to have any kind of antidote to Infection."

"We have no cure." He admittedly unashamedly. "To purify the Infected, you need to eliminate every one of them. Our cure involves bullets and fire, no miracle injection or antidote exists."

"T... Then..."

"I promised them women..."

"What!"

"The only other cure is to reproduce the species, I told everyone this, even Mito-kun agreed. If you think this is right, we'll welcome you in as one of us and you can have your pick, otherwise..."

Keitaro didn't want to hear any more, and stormed off into the house. Major Nakata shrugged and spoke quietly into his walkie talkie.

"Come on everyone." He grabbed the Hina Blade as the girls looked at him in puzzlement. "We're getting out of here." Seeing that they were still stunned he shouted, "NOW!"

There was no way about it, they grabbed everything they needed around them, weapons, food, car keys, and they ran through the main corridor to the middle where it branched of to the main exit.

They were stopped in their tracks by the entire patrol, armed with rifles, blocking the only way out, and behind them, Major Nakata walked alone, putting on a strange glove with long blades on it.

"You bastards..." Motoko cursed them. "I knew you would never let us leave here..."

Jiro was head of the group at the front. "You're damn right, How could we let the most gorgeous girls we ever met in our lives to leave now?"

"Like this!" Suu held out her remote control and pressed the large red button.

Nothing happened, and the soldiers laughed cruelly. "Did your poor toy break?" Jiro taunted.

A large shadow grew behind them, followed by a metallic roar. Jumping back, the soldiers cowered as the Mecha Tama jetpacked its way inside, smashing the marble pillar to the sides of the small entrance.

"Shinobu!" Suu, in a bizarre choice, pushed the scared girl towards her machine, which then opened up and took her inside.

"You bastards killed Seta..." Haruka loaded her Desert Eagles with custom-made uranium tipped bullets that he gave her for a birthday present. She was saving them for a special occasion, and now had the opportunity. She took aim.

"Take this!" Mitsune ran to the right and threw three sake cocktails behind the Mecha Tama, leading to a large tower of flame preventing the soldiers through.

"Haruka-san!" Keitaro called over the ensuing shouts of the soldiers. "Get Sara-chan out of here. Mitsune, take care of Narusegawa! Suu-chan, take Shinobu and go!"

He turned to Motoko and smirked with confidence. "Fancy a quick warm up before we leave?" He turned to Major Nakata and pulled out the black sword.

Motoko smirked back at his joke. "Very well, you'd better not lose or act perverted in any way or I'll send you to Okinawa myself." She withdrew her own katana in her left hand and also her sister's sword in her right.

A large explosion of escape, and everyone cried out…

"Let's go!"

**

* * *

Author's notes**

Shorter than the other chapters, this was half written on the bus home from London after leaving my girlfriend, as she travelled back to her home country. This chapter is again dedicated to her, in anticipation of me joining her soon.

I decided to split the chapter I wrote into two, as this is the best point to break it up. The next (and possibly penultimate) chapter is entitled "The Final Battle", very eloquent, and pretty much sums it up in one… For ages I'd been wondering what to call this chapter, Maria and I joked about the Kanako shower scene, so I left it as 'Wet and Horny' for the duration, until changing to something more traditional. Made me laugh each time I read it…

Hope this is to your liking, be prepared for changes to the movie now, and remember, the Hinata crew aren't like the two weak women in the movie… Reviews would enhance my happiness levels also.

Jason


	8. The Final Battle

**Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato**

**Chapter 07**

** The Final Battle **

"Let's go!"

Haruka and Sara ran to the left, Mitsune and Naru to the right, and Suu ordered the Mecha Tama to go up, ploughing through the ceiling to the floor above and extending an arm down for Suu to grab hold of. This left the entrance caved in and for the arena to be set for the ensuing skirmishes.

**With Motoko and Keitaro**

Motoko and Keitaro advanced slowly to their enemy, who likewise did the same.

Approaching closer, they stopped a mere five metres from each other.

"You have some guts, facing the two of us alone." Motoko commended. "I have to ask, will you surrender?"

"I refuse. The wellbeing of my squad members overrides everything."

"Very well then..." She posed in an attack stance. Keitaro held his blade with both hands, the few victories he had compared to the hundreds of Motoko meant he knew he must be careful.

Nakata with his five bladed glove on the right and metallic arm guard on his left meant that he could repel their blades. He waited longer, having the blades cover the front of his body, ready for a counter attack.

_I think we need to see why he is so confident... Why does it seem so familiar to me? _Motoko knew that he was baiting them, but without a first move, there'd be no conclusion. She glanced at Keitaro and he sensed it, running forwards to cover her as Motoko closed behind him.

"Hiken, Soutou Ryu!" Two dragon apparitions flew out of both Motoko's swords and intertwined into one large white one.

**Meanwhile**

Keitaro saw this new attack and was in wonder. _I wish I could do something like that... _He then saw that the dragons stopped moving, along with Motoko, Nakata and indeed everything else. Even he couldn't move his body. _Wh... What's going on?_

_**"Do you want power?"**_

"_What?" _Thankfully, he could move his eyes, and he looked down to see that the sword had a large ki, greater than he'd ever seen before, and that it was hovering over his hands.

_**"I can pass on the techniques that I have been used for, the ones I have learned from experience in blocking them, and the ones I have stolen. **_

Keitaro had only seen this deal in movies since it was so unbelievable, but knew he had to ask a question first.

"_What's the catch?"_

The voice chuckled. **_"I may 'help you out' every now and then..." _**

Keitaro thought about it. _It's already helped me before, I guess I'll need to do this in order to fight as an equal. _

"_Okay then, give me the knowledge..."_

**At that moment**

Nakata had parried the double dragon technique, and smirked when he saw Keitaro clutch his head. "Is he afraid of me already?"

Motoko was worried about Keitaro backing away to get closer to him. "Urashima, what's...?"

"Gaaaah!" He screamed as every synapse in his brain fired up at once, the electrical feed enough to convulse his body.

"URASHIMA!" Motoko jumped forwards and held Nakata's blades back as he failed to take advantage of the situation. _Shit, he's really strong..._ She sniffed the air, and shuddered, remembering where she recognised that smell of burning wood.

"You... Where did you get this weapon from?"

Nakata smiled. "What does it matter? I'm using it now!" He slashed forwards, and pushed Motoko away, making her slide back, her sandals leaving dust clouds in the old hallway.

"Could you have met another woman...?"

He grinned fully now. "You mean a feisty one? Maybe I did..."

"If so... then..."

To illustrate, he held the glove in front of him, blades pointing at Motoko. A lick of flame and they ignited, five pyres of hot steel. He moved the glove closer to him. "Unfortunately, she died a while ago, most saddening... As did our beloved 'Captain'." He held his other hand closer. "It's amazing, these are cool to the touch, for the owner, all the others it was used on suffered quite painfully." He started walking towards her. "Are you ready for yours?"

A sound alerted the two of them, Keitaro had stood up, a little wobbly at first, but he stood firm thereafter.

"Well, it seems Keitaro is back with us, but still a wimp..."

He looked up, a small trickle of blood leaked from his nose. Wiping it away he advanced towards them. The look in his eye changed, they were now much sharper and cold. He stuck the sword in the ground.

_**"I forgot to mention, you might become more violent when you start to fight."**_

"Urashima, are you...?"

"URASHIMA KEN! NAPALM DEATH!"

Motoko had to leap out of the way as he yanked the blade upwards and outwards, opening up the floorboards and sending out flames that spread their way to Nakata.

"Shit!" He deftly rolled to his left as he flung his blades right, dispersing the flame, but not without the getting some fire on his leg. "Aaaah!" Patting out of the flames, he stepped back to re-evaluate his foe.

Keitaro shook his head once, stalking forwards to his prey.

**With Haruka and Sara**

"How are we going to get out?" Sara asked curiously, not in the least bit scared which mildly surprised Haruka.

Turning her head to get her bearings correct, Haruka replied. "I think the best way would be to go up towards the roof, there must be some balcony we can climb out onto..." A shuffling sound came from the room next to them. "Wait..."

Haruka placed both hands on her weapon and kicked in the door, seeing one of the soldiers trying to sneak in after breaking the window. Unloading one round into his body, the sickening crunch satisfied Haruka as the bullet punctured past his body armour and smashed into a bone in his rib cage. She then proceeded to shoot him everywhere, his arms, legs, joints, groin and finally straight between the eyes. Forgetting that her Eagle didn't possess unlimited ammo, she continued to click on an empty round time after time, well after her victim hit the ground, until Sara rested her hand on the pistol, lowering it gently.

"Haruka-san... It's okay... He's dead now... You don't need to keep firing."

Droplets tapped on Sara's hand as her new guardian expressed her sorrow finally. "Seta..." She dropped the gun on the floor, making it clatter loudly. "My Seta...!" Falling on her knees, she covered her guilty tears with her slender hands, and bawled loudly.

Sara, not quite used to seeing 'the Iron Maiden', as Seta used to refer to her rarely, crying so much. Moving closer she could see the tears seeping through her fingers, and Sara, having reluctantly accepted his loss by now, hugged Haruka close and began to console her, relieving her pain slightly.

**With Mitsune and Naru**

"Shit, we're in a dead end!" Mitsune snapped.

They had just passed several rooms which would have faced the front, and as such were dangerous due to the soldiers possibly keeping watch there. Naru was frightened for once, worried that these people might do much to her than a simple peeping pervert would. Mitsune kicked one of the doors on her right to no avail, it didn't budge.

"Where do we go now?" Naru asked, fearfully fleeting her eyes over the way they came.

Mitsune opened her eyes. She struggled to find a way out, as she heard windows breaking on the left next to them, along with lots of shouts.

"Damn, sounds like they all came down here, maybe it was easier to get in...?"

She was about to light her sake cocktail before she noticed a strange indentation in the wall at the end of the corridor, behind a plant. Peering closer with the lighter, she could see that this was a tiny handle, but there were no seams or anything resembling a way out.

"Naru, gimme a hand with this..."

They both began to pull to the side, and they were rewarded with a dark passage leading further into the complex. Getting in, they turned rapidly.

"Let's close it quick and get moving!"

Straining and heaving against the large knob on the inside they managed to lock the passage off, just as the soldiers burst into the now dark and quiet corridor. Puzzled, they paid no heed to the wall, as the lack of light made it difficult to see the way in. They continued to barge their way into the rooms opposite thinking that they may have gone that way.

Mitsune and Naru stood silently, breathing out slowly once they heard the troop pass them by. Sighing once, Naru wiped her forehead. "Kitsune... That was too close." She stared off into the dark tunnel. "Where do you think this goes?"

"No idea..." Mitsune smirked, hefting her bag of sake with her. "But it's better than going back out there..." She thumbed the doorway over her shoulder. "Let's find out..." Her lighter was getting hot, so she took the liberty of using a torch they had 'liberated' from the supermarket. Leading the way, she spoke, as if to herself. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm back in Hinata-sou?"

**With Shinobu and Suu**

The Mecha Tama burst through another ceiling, again extending its arm to carry Suu upwards.

"Shinobu! Are you okay?" They had just landed on the second floor.

The microphone was working both ways, and the loudspeaker from the machine's mouth began transmitting. "I... I'm fine Kaorra, just a little bumpy, that's all..." Her nervousness couldn't fail to be heard.

"Don't be scared! My creation will save you, that's for sure!" Suu replied cheerily, jumping off the hand. Shinobu could see everything and more from the monitors inside, so she was for once able to see the pained expression on her companions face.

"Kaorra... What about you?"

The Molmol princess ran on ahead down one of the corridors, not looking back at her friend, nor saying anything.

"Kaorra?" She pressed.

Suu looked back, tear globules on her eyelids as a small streak of blood passed by her lips. "I'm not that important, I have to protect you first." She blinked once. "I like you, you're my best friend. I'm going to let anything happen to you Shinobu!" She ran on ahead.

_Suu, what's wrong with you? That blood... _Shinobu began to sniffle, tears of her own billowing over her eyelids. The admission that she was Suu's best friend meant the world to her. _Suu, I like you too... I want you to live... _However, knowing that she was basically locked inside the contraption, there was no way for her to actively try to help, except by trying to figure out the controls and hundred of buttons inside. Checking to see that the red light for the microphone to the outside was off, she contemplated Suu's previous inventions, and tried something.

"Umm, Computer?" No answer. "Erm, Tama?" Again, no reply. "Mecha Tama X?"

**"Welcome, Maehara Shinobu. How may I help?"**

Startled by the voice she gasped and felt her heart flutter. "Umm, what are your orders?"

**"Primary Objective: To ensure the survival of designated VIP, Maehara Shinobu. Secondary Objective: To transport creator Kaorra Suu to the Kingdom of Molmol within two weeks."**

Again she jumped, but this time from the horrifying details. _Suu doesn't even want to protect herself? And why does she have to be at that place by then? _Shinobu thought a bit more, and knew that there was only one more thing she could do to protect one of the few friends in her life.

Her next message to the robot was succinct. Complying according to Suu's wishes, as Shinobu had the same access rights as her; Mecha Tama X began its long reply.

**Meanwhile**

Heading towards the large pyre in front of the vehicle, one final cog in the puzzle was finally settling into place to join the other gears.

Kanako could see the smoking remains of Kyoto in front of her. _It won't be long now; I' m already at barricade 10. _Her lorry was weaving slowly through a bare camp, corpses and smouldering vehicles were nearby. _It looks like these soldiers were already killed a while ago... _Their torn bodies made her reach the obvious conclusion that the Infected had reached this far towards Kyoto.

_That city... It must have been burning for a long time... _She had never been to Kyoto, not even for a school trip. _Now I'll never see it again, only in pictures. No personal memories, only those of others. _

She breathed out as her own emotions came back. _Will I see oniichan? Is he waiting there for me? _She smiled and cried scarlet blood. _I hope so..._

**At that moment**

Keitaro swung his blade.

"Shinmeiryu Ougi, Zan Kuu Sen!"

An aerial ball of compressed air landed in front of Nakata, making a large crater in the ground and sending him flying back to which he remained on his feet.

"You seem to have found some guts young man." He ignited his swords. "Take this!"

He slashed downwards to create several lances of fire that meandered around until they were parried by both Keitaro and Motoko. However they both fell for the trap as the lances exploded to shower them with more flames. Nakata took this chance and sped in, hoping to catch them off guard. Motoko had fallen back as the flames hit her bandaged arms, which were also subject to being flammable.

Keitaro on the other hand, saw his attempt, and when Nakata was five metres away and closing, his thoughts mingled with that of the sword.

_You're mine!_

Swinging his sword around to a taught elbow he powered it forwards.

"Gatotsu Zero Shiki!"

A giant explosion of kinetic energy landed directly against Nakata, who appeared terrified. Quivering with excitement, he held up his five blades, the Hina Blade tucked in neatly between them, the only damage being a cut on his cheek.

"Hi Ken, Jigoku No Ho!" Fire plumed around each blade, then spiralled inwards, making each one white hot. Plunging it forwards, each one seared Keitaro's flesh, his screams echoing throughout the building.

Twisting his hand, he jerked it upwards, flinging the steaming blades away from his body. Doing a back flip to safe ground he landed and coughed up blood, his wounds still on fire from that attack.

"URASHIMA!" Motoko readied her weapon. "Hi Ken, Zan Gan Ken!"

The compressed air created a thin, long but immensely powerful extension to her slash, sending it down the corridor and forcing Nakata to hold it back above his head using the whole glove. The pressure led to him being forced into the ground as he stood firm.

Motoko ran to Keitaro. "You can't continue like this, your body isn't strong enough to perform those attacks..." _How did he do them though? The Gatotsu is one of the lost and legendary techniques back in the days of the Meiji Revolution... _

"I'll be fine Motoko-chan..." He got to his feet. "The Blade is helping me…" The ki malevolently swirled around the metal and then his whole body. "I just just about stand up though…"

Motoko sighed, knowing that it was a losing battle. She smiled at him. "You're as stubborn as ever, you'll never give up no matter how hard things can get..." She stood up too and faced Nakata, who had just recovered from the air attack. "Do your best, Keitaro." She smiled again, this time with a renewed pride for the ronin next to her. _Finally, the boy becomes a man... _

"Nakata..." She began. "For the sake of the Shinmeiryu, I shall avenge the death of one of the Five, the Fire goddess, Hinoko"

"Heh, so you knew that woman?" He licked the blades suggestively. "She didn't agree to our plans for her, so we had to eliminate her, swords don't hold up to bullets, though she did fire off a few attacks at us." He laughed mockingly. "She cried miserably before we killed her, we took great pleasure in that."

Motoko merely smirked. "Hinoko-sama would never bow down to you. She was an arrogant one, the most volatile of all the Five. However, one thing she possessed above all the others was the sense to never give up. She went down fighting, I can feel it here." She held a hand over her heart. "Am I right?"

Nakata was silent, and formed another battle pose, the hand above and behind his head, ready to cleave its way forwards. Flames erupted from the tips, creating longer blades of fire. He jumped forwards and sliced downwards and across, despite Motoko positioning her blades to parry the attacks. Yet, Keitaro ran in too late, the flames weren't solid objects, and they passed through hers, searing her arms and front.

"AAAAGH!" She fell backwards as the flames once more hit her vulnerable arms, which were burned in the same place. _He's going for my weak spots... He must've trained in some martial arts before... _

Keitaro stared down at Motoko, who was now looking much worse for wear, her arms trembled with pain as the battle scars seethed with embers from the hits, she eventually slipping away into the nether regions between reality and dreams.

Sensing the ki growing in his sword it urged him to Keitaro crouch down and over her two katanas facing Nakata, who was now firing up another ki based weapon on his blades. With his left hand he grabbed Motoko's katana, and kneeling further he chomped down of the handle of Tsuruko's odachi, making the blade stick out of the right hand side, and stood up. Stepping forwards, he held both blades vertically behind the horizontal odachi. Pouncing forwards, he met Nakata halfway as he also ran forwards, this time with flames being spouted out of all the blades at once.

Twisting his head to the left and arcing his arms forwards, two high powered downward slices were created, and a decapitating horizontal strike. "San Ken Jutsu. Tiger Hunting Prey!"

The wind from the blades managed to fan away the balls of fire, much to Nakata's shock, who tried in vain to parry Keitaro's odd manoeuvre. Though he tried somewhat luckily ducked the horizontal move, he couldn't help but take two deep hits on his torso from the two vertical ones.

"GAAAH!" He flew back several metres, blood streaming out in the air from the cuts in his chest and abdomen., landing badly on the floor creating a pool of blood around him.

Keitaro meanwhile cried out in anguish too, as his muscles and bones began to strain harder to keep him alive. A few which were well over their natural usage, such as the arm muscles, had begun to sting greatly and ached constantly, some tiny sinews had even snapped from overexertion. His tibia were also displaying similar signs of superhuman movement and strength, by the subtle hairline fractures and creaking sounds.

Falling to his knees, Keitaro gripped the handle of the Hina Blade tightly. He dropped Motoko's katana and loosened his jaw to release the odachi. He vomited blood, not a copious amount, but enough to make him worry that he wouldn't get out of there alive. This was quickly replaced by another thought, one that only gave him strength. _I have to protect everyone... I have to live..._ Sticking the blade into the tiles, his hefted himself up and quivered as his arms burned from inside with their own new flames, tendrils shooting through his body quicker than his brain could register.

At this point, Nakata, breathing heavily, used all his self-determination and sat up. He leaned back a bit to prevent further opening his wounds, and placed his hands on the ground. Shifting his legs closer to his body, he wavered to his feet and stood again, slouched forwards and staring down Keitaro, whose arms seemed to give up holding the blade any higher than his legs.

Nakata smiled, this time it was genuine. "You're quite something else you know that? No one has ever pushed me this far before... You surprise me every time we cross swords."

Keitaro didn't say anything, just panting and straining to keep his eyes open. He was running out of time. A small cut on Keitaro's scalp opened up, sending a thin flow of blood over his left eye. "Shall we finish this?" He shut away the Hina Blade in the sheath and attached it on his left hip.

"Yes, it is time to end this once and for all..." Nakata did an overarm palm down slam on the ground, and began to fuel the blades with his ki beyond his usual levels.

Motoko, still incapable of moving too much just yet, opened one eyelid to see the styles that the two were taking. _But, it's not possible... That's..._

**Fifteen minutes ago**

**Two floors above**

Shinobu managed to absorb the information garnered from the Mecha Tama X, though she sometimes asked for it to repeat itself. Suu was slowing down now and let the machine walk for the both of them, sitting in one of its cupped hands. Shinobu zoomed into her friends back and pressed a button on the cockpit to X-ray her. What she saw made her queasy. Switching off that mode quickly, she focussed on her plan, when a small puff of smoke appeared in the distance.

"What's that?" She asked on the loudspeaker, Suu shook her head in reply.

Using the infrared lens, she could see a small warm object on the floor along with other humanoid figures.

**"Analysis complete." **The Mecha Tama barked.** "Outdoor fire exit blown inwards. Smoke grenade clouding human vision 50 metres away. Three non-Infected humans detected."**

"The soldiers!" Shinobu cried. "They must be trying to get in the building this way!" She looked around, nervous. "Umm, can you kill them quickly please?"

There was no reply, as the first of the three broke the grey barrier. Shinobu saw his look of surprise and his hand signals to the other two.

"Suu! Get behind me!" The princess jumped out and skipped behind the leg of the robot as the men let hail a barrage of bullets, each one deflected and pinging off the ionised shielding. "Please Mecha Tama X, help us, kill them."

**"Unable to comply..." **It replied simply, not moving at all.

"Shinobu..." Suu spoke up knowingly. "It won't work..."

"But... why?"

"Mecha Tama X is a robot, and is programmed to obey the three laws of robotics."

Shinobu had no idea what this meant, but asked a pointed question. "Wh.. What about the Infected?"

Suu sighed sadly. "They weren't human any more, they were Infected, and classified as a new species. That's why it could kill them..."

There was silence for a few minutes as the enemy ahead of them stopped to reload. The enhanced telescopic microphone in the mecha picked up their voices. Shinobu paled and cried out. "Quick, get us into the next room!"

Obeying the command the Mecha Tama smashed the nearby wall and powered its way in, taking Suu with it, as a rocket propelled grenade whizzed by in the corridor behind, exploding at the other end where they came from.

They were now in one of the royal suites, a lavish four poster bed with a more traditional sliding door connected to the outside window, onto a balcony parallel to the corridor.

Looking out, Suu couldn't see far. "It's really misty outside..." She looked at the head of the mecha, straight into the hidden camera. "We can't leave the others behind..."

"I know Suu..." Shinobu began to imagine what had happened to them, especially one. _Sempai, I wonder how he is... I hope Motoko is protecting him. _

"I know!" Suu beamed. "Let's go that way!" She pointed through the wall looking down the suite, around the place where the soldiers were. One missile fired from the back of the robot and impacted with the ceiling, creating rubble in front of a door there. "They can't get in now!"

She started to run as her creation followed close behind. Doing a back flip she landed on its right shoulder. "There! Faster!"

A thin paper like wall lay ahead of them, with classical sliding doors. Crashing through it, they tumbled out onto another balcony, on front of which was in fact the slanted red tiled roof for the lower floor.

"Down!" Stamping its foot, the Mecha Tama crumbled the terracotta tile and stone ceiling easily and using the jets in its feet, lowered itself slowly to land on the soft red carpet. Suu smiled as if she were her former self. "Only way to go but forwards now! Find the others!"

A confident voice seemed to energise both the Mecha Tama X and Shinobu, as they both uplifted, and the machine used its jets to fly down the corridor.

**Meanwhile**

**Location Unknown**

A cobweb plastered on her face, and Naru squealed, again.

"Why am I the one who gets them all the time?" Her two antennae were now white and silky with web, even a complete spiral with resident spider was there under the overhang.

"You're not behind me, that's why." Holding back a grin Mitsune could see the webs but managed to steer Naru into each of them. Seeing something odd ahead she aimed her torch.

"Looks like we're going up this time." She tilted her head to the side so that her friend could see the stone steps leading up into the dark.

"We've been walking for a while now, do we even know where we're going?" She was getting frustrated, anger cross flaring up on her forehead. The spider crawled out of the web and dangled itself in front of her face. Grinding her teeth, she scrunched up the web and held the spider by the web, glaring at it. She threw it away over her shoulder, where it happily floated away and landed on another ceiling web.

"Let's go up." Mitsune led the way as the two of them walked up the steps carefully, there was a banister on both sides which helped them walk. Upon reaching the top, they arrived at a dead end, though more stairs continued nearby. Naru was about to go up further before Mitsune pulled her arm back. "Hang on, look over here..." The wall had a similar handle to the one the used to shut the door. "We'll open this and find out where we are..."

Heaving again, they struggled as the metallic scraping sound echoed down the stairs. Soon, they had it open and were staring down into another dark corridor, this time much more reminiscent of the royal palace.

"It feels like deja vu. Are we..." Mitsune held a hand up to stop Naru from speaking. A loud sound was coming from the other end of the corridor.

"We've got to get ba..." Two large lights illuminated them from the corridor. Mitsune cursed to herself, lit a sake cocktail and threw it in the centre of the lights. The ball of fire covered them for a few seconds before the lights were once again seen, unharmed.

"Shit!" Preparing three more, she was about to detonate them before a voice sounded out.

"Kitsune-san, Naru-sempai! It's us, please don't throw them!"

"Huh?" Mitsune lowered her guard as the Mecha Tama X slowed to a halt in front of them. Suu was covered in a pulsating purple shield, presumably to stop the flames from reaching her.

The shield deactivated almost immediately as it took a lot of energy to produce it. Suu beamed at them, holding out a hand. "We've found you! You're the first!"

Mitsune took her hand and joined Suu on the shoulder of the robot as Suu settled into the cupped hand. Naru meanwhile stood stunned, though Shinobu woke her out of her shock. "Naru-sempai, please sit here!" The left hand opened up and was comfortable enough for Naru to rest her feet.

"What now?" Mitsune asked. "Haruka and Sara went the other way, and Keitaro and Motoko were about to fight Nakata."

"My guess is to get outside..." Shinobu shyly answered. "I... I know that sempai will be okay, and Haruka is strong enough to protect the Sara-chan."

"You really think that pervert is that good with a sword?" Naru retorted, angry that they were talking about him again.

"You should know better than most of us, Naru..." Mitsune cut back, unpleasant memories flooding back to all of them.

Suu turned to her left. "To get out, we need to -" A rumbling distracted her, and a large noise, akin to that of particle cannon was heard. Everyone struggled to hold on to the Mecha Tama as Shinobu tried to find out the source, unsuccessfully one might add.

Naru became delirious. "Wh... What is th -" The light in the neighbouring rooms grew to a brilliant white, streaming through the door frames, while the building shook tremulously, cracks in the ceiling forming and becoming large holes as pieces of masonry began to collapse. Beams of light then began to break through floor, up past them into the ceiling. Shinobu could see that several support pillars and even the foundations had been affected. Mitsune was covering her head with her arm in case anything hit her.

"What the hell is going on!"

Shinobu replied while typing out instructions in the control panel. "I don't know, but we have to get outside!" The left arm cannon opened up beneath Naru, and then blew away a massive hole in the wall. "GO!" She cried, and the Mecha Tama X, with its passengers started to run as the corridor behind them crumbled to the level below.

More lasers from below destroyed the back part of the room, engulfing them in blue fire just as they tore through the final wall using the plasma shield and into the open air outside the palace.

**Ten minutes ago**

Two people stalked quietly down the corridor, one armed with two pistols, the other with stern eyes. Haruka was now on the move again, after her emotional outburst, one that she had been holding back for nearly ten years. _I never told him... _She knew that, deep in her heart, he knew her true feelings for him. However, given his nature, he never wanted to force her to reveal them until she was ready. She gave a smirk. _Ironic. When I am ready to tell him, I kill him before I can... _She looked down at her weapons and Sara. _She reminded me that I wasn't the only person to have lost someone special... That I still have a purpose to live. I promised myself that I would be a mother to Sara, so I must protect her... _She clenched her fists tighter around the hand grips.

The sounds of a door being unlocked, or attempted to, around twenty metres away, raised their nerves. Kicking it out, two soldiers burst out and started to aim their rifles. Not wasting any time, Haruka nailed both of them in the head, before either of them could fire a single shot. Running down towards the prone bodies, Sara stepped on their bodies hard. Sensing something else behind her, she grabbed the nearest statues to her, and threw the three of them at a third soldier that appeared from the room.

The first knocked him in his stomach, winding him bending him over to hold his lungs and stomach in agony. The second crushed into his back to a nightmarishly loud crack, resulting in him falling to the ground under that weight. The final, and heaviest one, slammed impossibly hard on his head, the sound of bones crunching and squelching emphasised by the red lake leaking out from beneath the clay plinth, along with other softer bits of grey matter.

Her face was level, but her eyes were angled downwards at his body, her eyes the definition of pure, undiluted hatred. She spat maliciously on his corpse.

"That was for papa..." She looked around to see a grimly amused Haruka, with a smirk on her face. "I'm done here, let's get out of here Haruka-san."

"Okay Sara-chan." She patted her head as they jogged side by side. Sara looked up with an annoyed expression, but grinned sneakily, one that was commonplace around Hinata-sou when she terrorised the tenants and was partnered up with Suu.

A rumbling from behind them gave them chills down their spines. "Wh... What's that?"

Spinning quickly, they could see a growing red white light from the junction at the entrance. "That's Keitaro fighting..."_ The amount of ki... I still can't believe that he can produce so much... _"Let's keep moving, we shouldn't go back, we'd only get in the way.

Running forwards even faster, they turned the corner to face another corridor in the square complex. Haruka sighed. _More again?_

Yet, her thoughts were stopped short by the appearance of Mito from one of the inner doors. Getting a lucky shot off, he wounded the tea shop owner in the arm. She was about to fire back when two massive explosions ruptured the building. One came from the direction of the light, but Haruka wasn't concerned with that one, as the other was further along the passage, past Mito.

He turned with his rifle at the ready, and quite confused, there were no planned incursions near him. Stepping towards the cloud of dust and broken brickwork, he pointed his rifle at roughly the height of someone's mid-section. A black-grey lance with a red tip sliced through his gun, making the front half of it fall apart, clattering on the floor. Mito whimpered out loud, then started screaming for his life, throwing the remains of his defunct weapon in the smoke, which again was chopped into several pieces. He ran at Haruka and Sara, who just stood there fixed by seeing the terror in his eyes.

It was too late. Another lance pierced straight through his body, closely connected to a small, thin hand. Blood poured from the wound and his mouth, his eyes wide with fear moved down to see the hand move slowly then instantly out of his side, penetrating his lungs and emerging from his right body. Now fully dead, and nearly broken in two, Mito fell, leaving a figure completely in shadow. All that could be seen were a pair of eyes and sharp white teeth. It continued to lash out and tear the flesh from the body, coating the hands with maroon and crimson. The clothing also followed suit, splotches in every conceivable place. Breathing out over the hot fresh bloody body, the air was cool enough to be visible to the two who watched this macabre display.

Haruka began to shake, not having experienced much of it in the past, she realised that fear can catch you and ensnare your whole being when you least expected it. As the being stood up straight, leaving no doubt with the single strand of hair that popped up, Haruka muttered one word, before aiming both her pistols.

"Kanako..."

Suddenly, beams of light from the left showered the area without a second for Haruka to click the trigger. Breaking through the walls, they began to destroy walls and ceilings, Haruka pulled Sara close and ran back to one of the rooms, kicked the door open and smashed through the window as Kanako was still, the destruction not affecting her self in any way. She walked away, deeper into the darkness.

**Five minutes ago**

Keitaro tried to contain his agony by clenching his teeth tighter. _Just one more attack left in me… One false step... _He looked up at Nakata.

The man in question was still crouched down, generating more ki and pumping it into the blades. His arm had the veins and arteries in full view, they were even showing through his uniform. Sweating profusely, he smiled. "You'll be the first to see me use this technique, you should be proud to have made me use it."

Keitaro just stood there silently, and placed his right foot ahead of his left, half leaning over with his right hand ready to pull out his blade. He was shifting his feet ever so slightly forwards to get him closer to Nakata.

"HaaaaAAAAH!" The power was now at its maximum in Nakata's blades, as several faces of fire floated above the glove, collecting in one spot to create a large ball.

"Shinmeiryu Ougi, Ho No Ryu!" The image of a cycloptic dragon appeared from the ground. Clamping its mouth over the ball, it unleashed the blast at Keitaro. The speed of a laser cannot compare with that of a human, however the Hina Blade knew this, and its ki pulled Keitaro to the other side.

Thankfully it only clipped the left leg, but the part that was hit, just below the knee, was seriously burnt, and the pain was momentarily forgotten as Nakata spoke again.

"Impressive, you dodged that one..." He took in a deep breath as he was panting, and low on energy. "This is the final attack..." This time several balls were surrounding him. He lifted the glove up to reveal the largest of all balls in the palm of his hand.

"Shinmeiryu Ougi, Hyaku Ho No Ryu!"

Countless dragons appeared from the glove and started to fire each ball at Keitaro, more being created each time. Taking control of the ronin, the blade forced him to dodge each one meticulously, first to the left, a duck, then jumping others. Nakata fired the giant blast from his glove, but again Keitaro got hit, his arms were burnt once more. The blade used this moment to fling Keitaro over the rest of the beam, and twisted underneath it to lie crouched only two metres away from Nakata.

Time slowed to allow for each millisecond of the move. Nakata urged more beams at Keitaro, but they were too late, as he had already pulled out his blade with his right hand.

"HAAAAAH!" Stepping once with his right foot to get closer, he finally pulled out the blade, and this time stamped forwards with his left foot, creating a distinct impression of his foot in the stone flooring. The power behind the strike shattered the steel of Nakata's glove, and the resulting wind and vacuum created a tiny negative vortex, dragging the dragon heads inwards, and thus the blasts outwards in all directions.

Nakata screamed as Keitaro's katana plunged into his chest, already raw from the earlier attacks. He flew directly up in the air. As his conduit and control mechanism in the form of the glove was destroyed, the ki in his arm dissipated quickly through the fire lasers, making them more volatile involuntarily, they exploded on impact with walls. Soon, he was expended, no energy left to prevent his slamming into the floor, a large crater forming around him, with his new diagonal wound across the chest to join the other two. Eyes rolled up into his head and mouth open, he spoke no more.

Keitaro smiled sincerely. "I did it..." Fainting, his head plonked against the ground, the Hina Blade also coming to a rest, its soul pinging out of existence for a short time to regenerate energy.

Motoko had seen all that had transpired, and got to her feet, unstable. Picking up her two swords, she sheathed her sister's odachi, and used her own as a walking stick. Edging her way towards Keitaro, she could see that thankfully he was still breathing, but that soon, the amount of blood he had lost would become terminal.

_I have to get him out of here... _Sheathing her blade, she grabbed the Hina Blade. _This sword is quiet... _She put it away in its ebony covering, and started to drag Keitaro off the ground. _He's done so much for us... He put himself in danger to save Shinobu, then Naru and even Kentaro... He's learned so many new techniques too... _She gave his left leg a look. _Not a mark... I've never seen this before, nor was it mentioned anywhere in history. _She smiled. _Yet it was the most powerful, even more so than Nakata's copy of the Shinmeiryu fire dragon summoning. _She had pulled him away from the battle, as the building started to implode behind them.

_Still, I wonder... Is this the end for us...? _Large chunks of stone smashed nearby as the three of them were shrouded in dust and debris. Motoko continued to plough further to the exit, her strength ebbing with each faltering step.

**Meanwhile**

**Outside**

"Look! It's Haruka and Sara!" Suu pointed at the shards of glass billowing out from the mansion, along with the two people, the blonde cradled by the elder.

Everyone jogged to them as more walls crumbled to the ground, fires lighting up all over the complex. Each one had suffered from slight concussion and burns from these same explosions, but the shield had protected them from the worst.

Haruka looked up to see the rest of the girls and gave a one-sided smile. "Glad to see you're all fine..." She pushed herself up, still holding Sara in her arms. "The place just started to explode..."

She looked behind them and could see something they hadn't noticed. A trail of burned grass straight from the entrance which they all first went into, the large wall where the fortifications began was destroyed, leaving the open plain behind it in full view.

"What... happened?" She jerked her head to indicate what she saw, and they stood there shocked upon surveying the area.

**"Analysis complete:" **The Mecha Tama X was already on the case. **"Concentrated fire projectile, internal temperatures exceeding that of 1000 Celsius. Origin: Emanated 50 metres from here inside building."**

"Th... Then that means..." Shinobu whispered from inside the machine.

Mitsune nodded. "Keitaro... He was fighting that Nakata... He must've done this." She turned to see the top floor catch fire now, more window panes shattering from the intense heat and warping frames. Her eyes noticed some movement between the haze at the broken pillars of the entrance. "Hey guys... Someone's there..."

Haruka spun quickly and had a hand to her available gun, but couldn't sense any evil presence. "Where is it Kitsune?"

The girl in question opened her eyes fully, taking in all the details, and smiled. "I'd know those bandaged arms anywhere..." She started running. "It's Motoko!"

Cheers went up as they all followed her close behind, Haruka placed Sara on the ground as they joined them. The samurai's arm was feeling through the rubble, unable to escape except to try to draw attention to herself. Mitsune was first there, clutching her hand tightly.

Motoko's hand tensed up, not expecting the contact and tried to pull back. "We're here now, don't worry..." Mitsune soothed. Motoko's hand visibly relaxed and didn't retreat. "Is Keitaro with you?" A second of silence passed, heart's slowing as they awaited her response. One quick squeeze confirmed the good news. "He's alive everyone!" Mitsune beamed back, to a delighted group.

Bizarrely, the grip grew fainter, until it was only Mitsune keeping hold of her hand. Smoke was seeping through the gaps in the rocks, and she realised what was going on. "We need to get them out of there!" She tried to pull out a rock, but it was stuck hard.

"Let me try..." Shinobu in the Mecha Tama X moved forwards and grabbed one of the top rocks, pulling it out and threw it behind her. The others egged her on until she finally could see more of Motoko. "I'll need your help now, please, pull them out!"

Standing on its tiptoes, the robot held away a tonne of brick, stone and marble as Haruka, Mitsune and Naru dragged Motoko and Keitaro out, the former keeping a vice-like grip on his arm. Once everyone was free, Shinobu released the wreckage and it created a new wall of rock as more of the ceiling fell through.

Carrying them a safe distance away from the blaze, they lay them on the ground. Motoko's arms were still covered with her bandages, but now were mostly blackened, in some cases burnt off. Her brow was drenched in sweat, the heat inside must've been too much for her. There were some cuts and bruises on her body, but nothing too serious apart from the burns.

"Keitaro..." Motoko wheezed, her eyes half-open. "He protected us all..."

Her head slumped to one side, but everyone could see that she was still breathing gently. _She called him Keitaro? _Mitsune took note of that, shocked by the change in Motoko. They then turned their attention to their manager.

Keitaro was in a much worse state. He had numerous wounds on his body. The cut on his head left half his face soaked in blood, his arms and legs were badly burned, clothing in these instances were incinerated. His left leg had a portion of black skin from extremely hot flames. There were five deep wounds in his chest, but the gaps in the flesh were cauterised from more heat. His arms and legs also shook constantly, everyone assumed it was due to the pain, but after Haruka knelt down to feel his arm, she realised what it was.

"His bones are fracturing, and his muscles are close to tearing apart..." She was grim as she placed a hand on his cringing forehead. "He needs time to rest and heal, or else he'll die..."

"Keitaro..." Naru whispered, unable to take her eyes off his horrific injuries.

"Sempai!" The front of the Mecha Tama opened up and Shinobu jumped out. She walked over to him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Sempai... will die?"

He opened up the bloodied eye, beneath some of his sopping red hair. He coughed once and smiled at her. "It's okay Shinobu-chan, everyone, I won't die..." He flinched as his arms throbbed once. "Nakata's dead..." He breathed in slowly. "Treat Motoko-chan first... She was burned worse than me…" He passed his gaze over everyone. "I'm glad you all made it out..." He too fell asleep, though his rasps seemed to need more effort than Motoko's.

Haruka softened visibly, the love for her only nephew shining past her passive exterior. She took a hold of his head and beneath his knees. "Naru, Mitsune, take Motoko with me to the van..."

They did as told, and helped each other carry the passed out girl to Seta's van, where they started to treat their wounds.

**Ten minutes later**

**Elsewhere on the complex**

The ruined palace would burn for as long as Kyoto would, forever extinguishing in one part, but starting up in another. Kanako studied this nature for a short time before venturing into the untouched parts. Walking by some great Japanese masterpieces, indispersed with a few Western artists, she thundered on, until her eyes prickled. Her vision turned red, and she could see perfectly in the dark corridor. Hearing a distant metallic chink, she went off in that direction.

Arriving on the second floor, she moved to the edge and went out onto the balcony. Beneath her, she saw the visage of the Infected Uramura. He heard her step on the wood, and glared up at her, spitting and growling. Kanako's red vision saw him as a white creature amongst the red of its surroundings. Fading naturally into human vision, she bared her teeth as her ki grew. Holding her arm high in the air, she cut it downwards. A thin shadow blade flung out from her fingertips slicing through the balcony edge, aiming at the ground. It broke the chain restraining the Infected to the wall. Seeing this, the tiniest look of surprise from the monster made it tug at the non-existent lead. Now free, he screeched and powered its way into the building. Kanako kept smiling, as she backed away into the black corridor, on to her next task.

**Meanwhile**

**Ground floor**

"Did you hear that?" One of the surviving soldiers remarked.

"Forget it..." Jiro wove it off. "This place is falling apart, we need to get out of here first."

The slight whisper of the high pitched yell reached them. "Now I hear it... What is it?" Another soldier asked.

Jiro could tell what it was immediately, but chose to ignore it. "Keep moving forwards!"

He charged ahead of the other three privates away from the flames and the caving in. One of the nearby doors burst open, and Uramura lunged through, biting into one of the lagging privates.

"AAAAAGH! Help me-" His voice replaced itself with screeching.

"SHIT!" Jiro swore and opened the nearby room, locking himself in alone. Hearing the two screeches against the human screams of the two he abandoned, he moved silently towards the only window. Now that the screams gargled and mutated into screeches, he quietly unlatched the window and climbed outside, shutting it behind him.

**Meanwhile**

**Outside**

A 'boom' was heard, this time not from inside the building.

"Oh no..." Shinobu muttered. "Infected..."

Across the field outside, Infected were running out of the woods and towards the large source of sound and heat, the palace. Some were tripping the mines, but others had managed to avoid most of them.

Suu went into action, pressing the button on her remote. "Mecha Tama X! Protect us!"

It sprung into action straightaway, closing the entrance to its cockpit and running forwards to the gap in the wall. Releasing the two machine guns in the arms, it started to rain death upon all the creatures that threatened them.

Haruka, Naru and Mitsune were observant to this, but stayed to apply more bandages and lotions to the two warriors, still unconscious. Once finished, they walked to the front and saw that the Mecha Tama X was doing good against the horde. Haruka looked at the guns and suddenly recalled a question that she had been pondering for a while.

"Suu..." The tanned girl turned to her. "Where does it get its ammo from?"

She grinned back. "It builds it inside with a structure conversion tower."

She raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that take a huge amount of energy?"

Suu shrugged. "I suppose..." She tweaked her palmtop to get readings from it. "According to this we have -" Her eyes widened and she turned to Haruka. "We've only got fifteen minutes left!"

"What!" The cigarette she was about to smoke fell from her mouth. "Why so soon? Isn't it supposed to warn us!"

"No..." Suu began typing in a frenzy, "There's been too much fighting, that plasma shield drained too much power, and the reactor has nearly been depleted..." She pressed the 'Enter' key. "There! It'll save bullets and aim for fatal shots, but it'll take more time for the locking mechanisms. It'll only give us another fifteen minutes..." She looked to the turrets. "We'll need to help it out though."

Haruka looked back to the van. _We need to give Keitaro and Motoko some time to heal, moving them now could be disastrous... _She waved at the turrets and numerous guns, "Everyone, get ready to -"

Screeches from behind the lines scared them witless. "What? They're inside already?" Suu cried.

Uramura smashed through one of the windows and stared down the girls. Haruka clenched her teeth. "Everyone! Kill them all!" She spoke as the other three Infected plunged out the other windows.

**2 minutes ago**

**Second floor**

"Did Major Nakata do this?" One of the three soldiers asked. He glanced around them, the cracked floor and gaping holes in the floor.

"Yeah, he did 'that' move..." The second shuddered. _When that woman performed it , we lost a lot of good men... _

The third held up his rifle with built in light. "Who's there?" He angled it down the corridor.

"What's up?" The other two did the same. "You see something?" The first enquired.

"Yeah, I think s-"

Two white spots started to glow. "There!" They moved their lights onto them, but instead were faced with a petite girl.

"Huh?" The second was confused. "She wasn't part of that group..." He took aim and shouted down at her. "Stop right there!"

Instead of surrendering she opened her mouth and let out an almighty screech.

"SHIT! SHE'S INFECTED!" The first cried. "FIRE!"

The drumbeats of their rifles echoed as the first bullets reached Kanako, but she lithely avoided each one of them, speeding up and getting closer.

"She... She's too fast... How can she dodge bullets if - GAAGH."

His throat had been punctured by a swift hand piercing his neck. Kanako pulled out her left hand and threw the soldier over her shoulder, having already broken both the remaining guns. Sneering at the last two surviving members, she answered the dead man's question with one of her own.

"What if... I wasn't Infected?"

She raised her left arm and her inhuman vision became clouded with white, hot blood.

**Meanwhile**

**Outside**

Mitsune flared up three sake cocktails, one with a shorter fuse. Throwing that one first, it exploded before it reached one of the Infected, spreading the liquid fire on him. Chucking the other two, the impact on his body created a pyre by which he was unable to stand, still holding out his arms in a vain attempt to grab her. Soon, the heat got too much, and he died again, the body slumping to the ground as it reduced itself to ashes.

Naru and Shinobu faced one other Infected. Not having any weapons of their own, they picked up the automatic rifles and pointed them at it. "I'll shoot, I swear!" Naru cried. It just screeched and jerked forwards, making them backtrack.

The blue-haired girl had more tears in her eyes. "I... I'm sorry!" Shinobu pressed the trigger, and peppered his body with bullet holes. Her whole body shook from the persistent recoil so her aim swayed a bit too near her allies. Naru held her gun steady.

"Shinobu-chan, you did good..." Naru held the girl as she threw the gun on the ground, shock and sadness racking her body due to her first ever kill.

Meanwhile, Suu and Sara seemed to be back to their old tricks. While Suu didn't do any flying kicks, she pulled out an odd laser beam which only had two shots. Using them to her advantage, she proceeded to chop off both arms of the Infected. Sara then stepped in, taking some of the rocks from the mansion. She threw some large debris at the head of the enemy and ended with a sole boulder crushing the rest of his body, Satisfied with their victory, they did a high five.

Haruka was having a hard time of it, the leap through the window left her arms exposed to the blood from the shards of glass that cut her. The cuts also made her aim a little looser, and less able to focus. Uramura was adept at dodging, whizzing past her bullets. _Maybe Nakata used him for target practice... _One of her bullets hit home, embedding itself in his right shoulder. _I need to immobilise him... _She fired one at the legs but only one landed. He started to limp. _That's all I need. _Refilling her clips, she emptied them directly into his torso, though some of them missed, the two bullets in the head helped to kill it, and Uramura screeched his last, stumbling to the gravel clumsily.

Everyone was panting, the exertion of the half an hour getting to them. "We... We need to get moving..." Mitsune said breathlessly. "There's too many... We can't stop all of the Infected in Kyoto!" She looked to the see the Mecha Tama was doing okay, but that the number in the distance were growing. "Let's go... Quick!"

Haruka sighed. _We have to go now, or else things will get much worse... _"Okay then... Everyone! We're leaving!"

Ushering Naru, Shinobu and Sara to the van she followed. Mitsune jogged to her motorbike, putting on her helmet once more. Suu clambered on to the Mecha Tama and made it pause shooting for two seconds as she slid into the cockpit.

Shinobu stopped upon reaching the van. "Wh... Where's sempai?"

Naru looked around. "Motoko's gone too!"

Sara scratched her head. "Where'd that dork go now!"

**Ten minutes ago**

"Mecha Tama X! Protect us!"

Jiro watched the large invention make short work of the Infected outside. _If only we had that on our side... _He was hiding in some bushes besides the main building, behind the van. He saw Motoko and Keitaro being taken care of by Haruka. _That runt killed Nakata... How did he do it? _Soon they moved away to watch the carnage.

He narrowed his eyes. _I'm not leaving this place without getting some... _He spied the kendo garb and started to salivate. _It's always the troublesome ones that turn me on... _He stealthily made his way over to the van with its open side door. Motoko's head was nearest to him, and he felt her silky black hair billow between his fingers. _I must have her... _

Pulling her out of the van, he started running from the scene, taking a side path around the buildings and into one of the royal gardens.

**Meanwhile**

**Hinata-sou**

This act did not go unnoticed by the ancient spell, its keeper currently residing in the very foundations of the old building behind Hinata-sou. Wooden gears started to churn away the age old rot, mildew and plant life that had grown around them, linking up with one another.

The sound attracted the local Infected, whom had started to flock around the building. A herd of five tried to get in, but three massive gears minced them up in the doorway. To prevent any more disturbances, the doors automatically shut and were reinforced by two gears rolling behind them.

Having lost some time, the gears sped up and produced the necessary electricity needed to initiate the enforcement of the spell. The clock tower glowed purple, adding that colour to the lightning that surrounded the building. As the two destined were many miles away, it sent a message to the one who made the promise, and granted him power to save the one he vowed to protect.

**One second later**

**The Royal Palace**

Keitaro grit his teeth as several purple bolts harrowed his body, making him convulse in the form of a fit. He opened his eyes, the jolt ignited his soul and fervour. He held his arms up; they no longer shook. _My bones... They've healed? _He tried clenching his fist, and again was surprised. _Even my muscles have repaired themselves! _Sitting up and trying to make sense of what was going on, he noticed a tiny red string attached to the little finger of his right hand.

"Eh?" He tugged on it but felt nothing in return. However he did have a vision upon touching it, along with a sense of foreboding, and the image of a leering Jiro came to mind.

"Motoko-chan..."

Grabbing the Hina Blade, he made his way out of the van and followed the string, as it magically shrunk and wound up the closer he got. He ignored the sounds of windows breaking and loud screeches behind him and instead ran faster.

**Meanwhile**

**The Royal Gardens**

Motoko groaned, her head was pounding rhythmically. _I'm still healing... I should be fine in - _

She opened her eyes when the warm hand of some stranger was placed on her bare thigh. Jiro had the look of a wolf about to devour its prey. "You -!" A slap rang through her ears, a hand print reddening on her face.

"Shut up bitch..." He spat. "My friends are all dead! Killed by you lot!" He held a small knife close to her throat in his right hand. "I'm not dying just yet, I've wanted to have you since I first laid eyes on you." He pressed his hand harder into her leg. "At least I'm going out with a bang!"

Motoko tried to struggle, but he was too strong and held her down with his body weight. "Don't move or I'll make you feel what it's like to have knife slice your artery." He smirked. "It's not a pleasant way to die."

Motoko paled at the thought, and also from her medication. _Please don't make me drowsy... _Her eyes were lulling about as the sleep filtered into her vision, making Jiro appear blurrier as he felt up her bare leg.

_NO! _

She bit her lip hard, drawing the coppery taste into her mouth and using the renewed strength to try to move again.

"I warned you girl..." He raised the blade. "I'm going to savour this..."

**At that moment**

Keitaro felt the shocks tingle inside, and he again started to jerk and move erratically. _Motoko-chan's in trouble... _He ran as fast as possible, the red string leading him on into the gardens.

A little past a large series of hedges, which turned out to be a maze, he saw Jiro lick the metal. His glasses turning opaque, he ran in silently and chopped the offending hand off.

"GAAAAAH!" Jiro used the other hand to stem the flow, but still it pumped out. His dismembered hand, which was still clutching the knife, fell beside Motoko's head, not without depositing some red droplets on her face.

The blade fall from the ronin's fingers, but not without transferring some of its inherent anger that it held. Roaring with madness, he leaped at Jiro, who backed away poorly. Keitaro wrenched his left hand away and twisted quickly, snapping the joint. Another scream from his victim, and he jerked his newly reformed muscles to pummel away at Jiro. He scraped his face into the branches of the hedge, leaving harsh thorny slashes across his face.

"Please... don't - AAAGH!" He pressed down on his foot and broke the heel bone, then jammed it forwards to snap the tendon. Jiro buckled and fell on the red grass. In between his dying breaths, he managed to speak desperately, pleading for understanding. "We can't get out... Japan's an island... Why is no one coming to save us?" He looked up imploringly, quite literally a broken man. "They've quarantined us... They left us to die!"

Keitaro looked down at the miserable person below him, his lenses still not letting any light in. Having collected the Hina Blade, he plunged the it into the grass in front of him.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Jiro continued to scream as Keitaro picked him up by the head, a certain portion of his anatomy severed and lying near the blade.

Keitaro grew more violent, and started to squeeze his thumbs into Jiro's eyes.

"GAAA- GH"

Motoko shivered. _Keitaro... Why... _The way he moved, and his insanity could only mean one thing in her mind. _He's... Infected? _Turning to her side as he pushed deeper into Jiro's skull, she held the Hina Blade and stood up. Keitaro turned around, his fingers drenched in blood and aqueous fluid. The sun was behind his back, so she couldn't see his expression.

He started to step to her, and Motoko shed tears as she raised the sword. Powering it downwards, she stopped just as he reached her, staring at her tears with his chocolate brown eyes.

_Brown eyes?_

Putting the katana aside, she quivered as he spoke. "Are you okay Motoko-chan?" He seemed his normal cheery self.

"Urashima... You were..." She swallowed once. "You were like the Infected..."

He furrowed his brow and looked to Jiro, then turned several shades greener, more so after seeing his hands. "I... did that?"

Motoko nodded. She didn't expect that movement to make her knees weak however, and started to fall. Keitaro was there to catch her, but not wanting to spread whatever now lay on his fingers on her, he used his arms under her armpits. Naturally, this led to a very close quarters encounter, one which they both blushed at.

"Sorry Motoko-chan, I -"

"It's okay..." Motoko smiled up at him. "I know..." Leaning in a bit she felt his accelerating heartbeat and overwhelming warmth flow through her. She whispered something incoherent.

"Wh... What was that Motoko-chan?" He fought to keep his hormones to himself, and prayed that he wouldn't do anything perverted now.

She pulled back. "Thank you, Keitaro..." The truth in this statement was emphasised by the genuine gleam in her dark eyes. She leaned in and hugged him politely. "You saved me from..." Her voice caught, and she changed the subject. "Let's get out of here..." She avoided looking at Jiro again, and gave Keitaro a chance to rinse his hands in the stagnant water of the miniature fountain nearby, letting go of each other for the first time in a few minutes. She also washed the specks of blood off her face

"Ready?" Motoko asked, holding out her hand.

"Let's get out of Japan, Motoko-chan." He took her hand and smiled back. Looping her arm over his neck, he started to help walk out the weaker girl, out of the gardens to the side of the palace.

**Meanwhile**

"Where'd that dork go now!"

Haruka spun around after hearing some leaves rustling. "There you are!"

They both seemed shaken, yet Keitaro appeared to be more vibrant and less strained. _He's healed so quick? How? _She saw the way he acted as Motoko's crutch, and also how everyone else flocked around him, pleased, happy, curious, and even annoyed at being gone for a while. Nodding with finality and the truth, Haruka knew. _The power of love is greater than any other force on Earth..._

"Hey everyone! I'm running out of power here!" Suu cried from the Mecha Tama X, sure enough, the firing had become less intense.

Immediately, everyone went into action, Mitsune jumped on the bike, the rest in the van, Keitaro sticking close to Motoko, Shinobu next to her, and Naru and Sara rode shotgun.

Starting their engines, they were about to move before the Mecha Tama spoke.

**"Warning. Unknown species detected." **

Suu elaborated. "There's something weird in that window!"

Everyone craned their necks to look, and saw the dark outline of someone with the fire raging behind. The glass was pulverised and the figure walked out onto the small balcony, staring down at their surprised faces.

"But that's..." Keitaro began.

Naru was also in shock. "Isn't she your...?" She heard the story of their last meeting from Mitsune.

"Yes." Haruka stated. "That's Kanako, Keitaro's sister. I saw her kill Mito inside. She isn't human..." Revving her engine, she bade farewell to the palace. "We're going now, she's too dangerous..."

Spinning the wheels manically, the van careered off to the exit as Kanako jumped high in the air, landing behind them. Using its bulk and armour to bear the brunt of the impact, it forced the gate open. Mitsune was second to follow, and Suu brought up the rear, shooting at anyone that tried to get near, not touching Kanako as she wasn't registered by the system.

Gazing sadly at the departing vehicles, her red tears again streamed down her face. Wincing, she clutched her head as her left arm went more out of control, jerking, tensing, and contorting at random. Her visage grew darker as she stormed into the blaze.

**Meanwhile**

**Inside**

The battlefield where Nakata and Keitaro fought still bore plenty of scars. The walls were still holding themselves up despite the bombardment from the fire lasers.

Nakata stirred, his hand twitched, and eventually moved slowly to his side. Rolling onto his front, he pushed his hands down to lift himself up. It took a painful minute to do this. Leaning against the wall, he struggled to find any breath, his wounds still throbbing and bleeding with excruciating pain. He stared off determinedly into space.

"I will protect my squad..."

"You were too late. They're all dead."

Nakata widened his eyes and turned to face Kanako. "They had no chance... I enjoyed killing a few of them..." She licked her lips as he saw her red and glistening hand.

"Y... You bitch..." He picked up a piece of metal support that fell from the ceiling above, and held it as a bludgeoning tool, still using his other hand to hold onto the wall. "You'll pay for that... All we wanted was to get out of Japan..." He cried some silent tears.

Her grin only grew broader. "A shame you won't be doing that either..." She clutched her head again, the bloody hand cracking loudly, spreading some more red tint to the rest of the arm. Screeching at the top of her voice, she lurched forwards and lunged.

Nakata smiled and raised the pipe.

**Five minutes later**

**South of Kyoto**

The radio in the van buzzed into life. "The power is near zero! I need to get out now!"

Haruka picked up the receiver. "Okay Suu, we'll stop here now..."

Slowing the van down on a deserted bit of road, but with two bits of forest on opposite sides meant that they had to be careful for any Infected. Each person who could fight was ready. Suu stopped her invention and jumped out running into the van.

"Okay everyone, move!" Haruka cried.

Everybody obeyed at once and in an instant they managed to be on the road in ten seconds. Suu looked back with happy memories of her machine.

"I'll miss that Mecha Tama..."

Shinobu smiled. "It's okay Kaorra, you can always build another..."

"I know... I need to destroy this one though..." She pulled out her remote control. "I need all of you to look forwards... You don't want to go blind..."

Doing as they were told no one looked back as she pressed the button.

The Mecha Tama X closed the cockpit, and firing up its jetpack for the last time, it shot into the air. Continuing for another kilometre, the reactor cracked and ignited. The airborne mushroom cloud expanded upwards, sending shockwaves down to the ground below. While not a full nuclear or atomic blast, the air increased in temperature rapidly, vaporising the road behind them, along with a few acres of forest.

This new rising sun could be seen all around Japan and the surrounding islands, sharing its light over what would hopefully be a new dawn…

**Author's notes**

To clear up some things:

Soutou Ryu – Double headed dragon.

Napalm Death – Imagine Sol's Gun Flame.

Jigoku No Ho – Fire of Hell.

San Ken Jutsu – Three Sword Style

Ho No Ryu – Dragon of Fire.

Hyaku Ho No Ryu – 100 Fire of Hell

Three Laws of Robotics, read up on them if you don't know them. The structure conversion tower is something mentioned in BLAME, one of the most detailed art you'll ever find in a manga.

Finally, the Five is a group within the Shinmeiryu that I created from my other story (in case you haven't read it), and Hinoko was one of them.

I'll bet this chapter was worth the wait, please feel free to send any reviews my way, and I'll hurry up and finish the final chapter, currently longer that this one already.

- Jason


	9. Antithetical Antidote

**Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato**

**Chapter 08**

** Antithetical Antidote **

**Not long after the explosion**

A solitary figure walked into the crumbling mansion, seeking out an infernal ki, ravaged by hatred and revenge, with a touch of insanity and irrationality to top it all off. Strolling past the smouldering remains of the corridors, the ceiling and upper floors having been smashed away by the air shockwave, he went straight to the central portion, still held aloft by some sturdy pillars and metallic framework.

Something was scraping away and pounding on a soft surface, followed by a wet sound of tearing cloth. A distinctly thick dripping liquid was constant throughout. Hearing footsteps around the corner, and then stopping in full view, the creature turned, its eyes glowing white in the dark.

Able to sense the attack, the man threw his weapon and dodged deftly to one side. The thing screeched in pain, clutching vainly at its left arm.

The man spoke. "You must be..." The other figure screamed again, pulling at the thin wires now tightly wrapped around the bloody hand and wrist. "I remember you... The only other person to escape from Tokyo after the Infection began to spread." The person snarled and stared into the man's eyes, rage, death and destruction clearly evident in her purple orbs.

"So what if I am?" Kanako sneered, her mouth caked in what appeared to be a recent, and very raw, meal.

"I saw you leaving in that truck outside. Were you lured here by this group?" The man replied. "I came to stop them before I leave Japan." He gripped the rope that was attached to her arm closer. "You possess tainted blood..."

She grinned knowingly, and the man reacted accordingly. "Unless you..." She started to pull the wires painfully out of her skin, her angry visage not able to disguise the extreme agony she was in. "There's no need for that." He twisted the rope forwards and the net loosened instantly, flying back to his side. He stared at her face intently. "Who are you?"

She cracked her knuckles and moved forwards threateningly. "Shouldn't you give your name first?"

He sighed. "My name is Aoyama Shin." He crossed his arms. "Anything else?"

Kanako faltered in her steps. "Aoyama..." Her brain struggled to return to its previous state, as to why that surname was so familiar. "Motoko..."

He arched an eyebrow. "You know Motoko? Then you probably know of Keitaro."

"K... Keitaro..." More images of an unremarkable man with brown hair and geeky glasses appeared before her eyes. She cried blood as her true memories resurfaced. "O... Oniichan..."

_Oniichan...? Then, this must be... _"You're Urashima Kanako, right?" The confused girl looked up and nodded. "Before you drown in the hatred of the blood within you, find that kanrinrin that Motoko was looking for, your brother." Kanako dropped to the floor, in front of the eviscerated corpse of Nakata. "Even if you did -" The wind suddenly picked up, covering up three words before dying down. "- you don't have long to live as a human any more..."

Standing up, no longer in control of the Infected mind, she strode off towards the exit, to leave that place forever, where she hoped that what was her first act of cannibalism, would be her last. Halfway to the truck, she threw up everywhere, enabling her to see first hand what (or namely, who) she had for dinner.

Shin went past the mansion to the radio transmitter, which was based outside, and smashed the satellite, burning the rest with his net. _No more innocent people will come here..._

**Half an hour later**

"I still don't get it..." Suu was poking at Keitaro's arms and legs. "How're you all better?"

"Oww!" The place she had just poked for the 39th time finally began to hurt. "Just leave me alone okay! I don't know!" He mumbled to himself. "I don't even remember..." Suu pouted and crawled back to her window seat next to Shinobu, who giggled at her sulking face.

Motoko, who was sat next to him, leaned forwards and looked up at his face. He seemed worried. Relaxing back in her seat she continued to put some weight on his shoulder due to her injuries.

"It's okay; you don't need to know how you acted back then. It was... scary." She winced, the burned arms throbbing and shaking with pain. "Urashima... Do you have that cream I leant you a while back?"

His expression changed quickly. "Of course! I forgot all about it!" He rummaged about in his bag that he packed back at Hinata-sou, pulling it out of the side pocket.

He gazed at everyone around him, sensing in front of him that Naru's anger was growing. Motoko gave him a trusting nod, and peeled off her arm bandages. Keitaro grew slightly greener seeing how badly the skin had ruptured, forgetting that once he had worse injuries himself. Applying the cream to the arms, she jumped at the cold but quickly the heat from the burns had returned, though with less intensity. Rubbing it in gently, he coated both arms from shoulder to fingertips in the white substance, turning into a clear shiny surface on her skin.

Changing the bandages with some new ones, he gingerly replaced them, while he was used to bandaging himself constantly at Hinata-sou to his frequent trips to the ionosphere, it was different when applying to someone else, especially a slender and more toned girl. Motoko noticed his reluctance, and wanting to reassure and help him, she placed her hand over his and made them sufficiently thin enough to allow her arms to move freely, but tight enough to keep the wounds closed and less likely to reopen. Soon, her arms were smelling fresh from the cream and clean bandages. Smiling at Keitaro, she was about to thank him when she gasped again. Her stomach wound, now that the pain from the arms had dissipated, was acting up again.

"Motoko-chan! Is it...?" She nodded once. "Okay, I... I'll put some there..."

Gulping once, he placed a healthy dollop of the cream on his fingers, looked away as she opened up her gi a little and let her use his hands to put the cream there. Respectfully, no one minded this act, though he would have been sent into orbit if he even got close to one of them in the past.

"Haruka..." Keitaro began, after cleaning his hands on some tissues, "How long till Osaka?"

Biting on her cigarette she looked at her surroundings and current speed. "Not sure... We definitely have enough petrol thanks to S... Seta." She calmed herself before speaking on. "We could be there within four hours if we're lucky."

"Then we just have to find a boat..." Naru continued. "They're probably all gone by now, or sunk..."

"It'll be okay Naru-sempai." Shinobu brightened up. "All we need is one boat, there must be just one left for us to take."

"Maybe we can get the dork to swim us there..." Sara spoke under her breath, which elicited a smile from Naru and Haruka.

Keitaro looked out the window. "It should be fine; we'll get out somehow..."

Motoko snoozed away on his side, letting the cream heal her body while resting for the first time without pain keeping her awake.

"Not to worry, if there's nothing good out there, then I have a secret weapon!" Suu ended the conversation with another enigmatic comment.

_Another secret weapon... What next? _Haruka wondered, and dreaded what that could mean. An image of Osaka vanishing in a giant mushroom cloud floated into her mind, but she hurriedly shook that off.

As the roads cleared up, silence returned to the van, Infected were drawn out by the bright light from the explosion, but they were too slow to get near either the van or the motorbike. No one dared to turn on the radio, lest they hear the message sent by the soldiers, not knowing that the signal has ceased a short time ago.

"I wonder..." Keitaro started. "Was Jiro right? Are we being quarantined here?"

Motoko woke up briefly. "Do you remember that...?"

"Only what he said, not -" He looked down. "- what I did to him."

She settled into the snug position she had again and drifted off to sleep. Haruka answered Keitaro's question. "Perhaps... Better than to risk sending in soldiers to retake the country. They might get Infected, then the problem gets worse. It would be impossible to kill everyone as well."

"Then..." Naru though out loud. "Would they stop us leaving? Even if we weren't Infected?"

"How could they tell? Does anyone know what Infection was like, how quickly it spreads?" Haruka sighed. "They might even think it appears after a week, not less than a minute..." She recalled the moment Seta changed, how fast it had all happened, and soon remained quiet.

"I'm not sure..." Suu said. "I was out of Japan when the WHO made an international alert of the pandemic level, within the hour all flights to Japan were stopped, and planes leaving from there in the first few minutes were..." She closed her eyes while remembering the news reports. "They were... shot down."

"What!" Sara cried out. "By who?"

"The US, who else?" Suu shrugged. "The UN put a stop to that. Only five out of the hundred jumbos were destroyed in the end. The rest were given safe passage with fighter escorts to nearby countries. A few... lost control in mid-air..."

"Infected got on, huh?" Keitaro stated truthfully.

"They were downed as well." Suu grew sadder. "To prevent Infection."

"What about the other planes?" Shinobu asked.

"They were held in the airports and left there for a week, without fresh food or water. The military had complete control by then, making sure that no one got out. Later, biohazard medics were sent in to check each and every person, and eventually they were released."

"How horrible..." Naru shook her head. "Even after all they've been through..."

Suu dropped the bombshell she'd been holding back. "There were unconfirmed reports of Infected appearing in Beijing, Sydney, and even as far as Los Angeles..."

"My God..." Haruka muttered. "It's worse than I expected... Some people got out then through some other means?"

"Probably... I don't know what's been happening since I left Molmol with my Mecha Tama."

"T... Then..." Shinobu stuttered. "What if we here leave by sea?" _Wait, didn't she say Molmol? That's what the Mecha Tama said... _

"I don't know..." Suu admitted. "After the planes, news became controlled by the UN, even my country can't tell what would happen..."

Keitaro darkened. "By now there's so few humans left in Japan they'd assume we were all Infected anyway..."

Silence reigned once more as they drove on to the ports at Osaka.

**Meanwhile**

Far behind them was Kanako in her trademark vehicle. She had an impromptu meal earlier, but she chose to eat some more nutritious food that was in her cabin, munching on some canned peaches.

_I lost control of myself completely... _Flashes of rage passed by and she shook her head of them. _I was like... one of them... I ate that man... _She gave an evil smile. _Still, the others deserved what they got, a painful death..._

Her left arm was still at her side, the bleeding more or less subsided. _It seems like losing some of that blood meant losing some of that influence..._ The hand and wrist were less red than before, her nails almost completely white and normal. _Could this be the key?_

Trying it out, she turned the radio on and tuned it through to that frequency, sure enough, the 'cure to infection' was no longer being broadcast. Scanning all the channels, nothing came out, so once again static was all on the airwaves.

"Okinawa..." She read the manifest from Hinata-sou, under Mutsumi's profile. "The only place to go now..." Pressing the foot down on the accelerator she thought of one thing. _What should I steal next?_

**11pm**

**North of Osaka**

"We can't risk going into Osaka now, it's too dark and dangerous." Haruka stated as they all parked off road. "We'll camp here for tonight, but be alert and ready to move at any point." All nodded as she opened out the tents, which she managed to prepare in a few minutes with Keitaro's help.

Motoko, who was still fairly injured got the comfy van to rest her bones, Keitaro volunteered to stay in the front with her so she wasn't alone. Haruka stood guard, since the Mecha Tama X was no longer around.

"Urashima..." Motoko yawned later that night.

"Motoko-chan... You okay? Do your wounds hurt?" He replied with worry.

"No, they're healing well. I want to thank you again, you saved my life today. I owe you much..."

He waved it off. "But I didn't do much, without the sword I -"

"Even so..." She interrupted. "You were to the one to wield it. That makes you the one who saved me."

He put his hand behind his head self-consciously. "I… I guess so…"

"Without you, we'd probably all be dead sooner rather than later…"

He didn't reply to that, thinking about whether or not it was true.

_Motoko might have chosen to die when her sister did. Haruka would have starved to death in the tea shop at one point. Seta and Sara would probably run out of petrol and be at the mercy of them once his ammo ran out. Shinobu… would probably die quickly when she saw her parents. Mitsune, without backup, might be caught by them. Naru… killed by her own sister. _

_And Kanako… _He stopped there. _What… is she?_ He flashed back to the Mecha Tama's declaration. _Unknown species? So, she's not human? I'm sure I'll see her again before this is all over, when is the question…_

Closing his eyes, he rested fully, having a peaceful sleep for the entire night.

**The next day**

**8:32am**

Keitaro awoke, the odd feeling of cold air bristling his nerves, sitting up, he felt his head and realised it was wet with dew.

_Dew? But I should be in… _

Fully awake now, he stood up in shock. The campsite where they were at was completely empty. The only signs that people were there was from the four indentations in the grass from the van tyres, and patches of dry grass from the tent flooring.

"N… NO!" He started running around in a panic, screaming it constantly. The land was bare, no people in sight, and no recent vehicles either.

He fell to the ground, pounding the moist earth. "We were so close… Just another few miles and we'd be free…"

Suddenly, an Infected rose up from behind him, and jumped on Keitaro, biting deep into his neck.

**At that moment**

"GAH!" He fell out of the open door onto the grass.

"Thanks for helping us pack up Keitaro…" Naru grumbled.

"Y… You're all still here!" He was on his knees, clutching at her skirt and had tears in his eyes.

"Gees… What's gotten into you?" She elbowed him into the dirt, leaving his arms skewed in the air. "We're leaving now, so get moving!"

"Okay…" He yawned loudly and got into the back seat. Motoko had already woken up and was sitting normally. He sat next to her, again by the window. "How're your arms and stomach?"

"There's no pain, though they're still warm."

"I just thought about this, but why not use the cream on Suu-chan?"

She shook her head. "No, remember I gave her that small sachet a few days ago? It should still be working. The cream wouldn't do any difference, the swelling needs to be stopped first by removing the radioactive particles."

Keitaro understood and watched as the rest got ready and into the van. Mitsune was putting her helmet on.

"So what were you on about?" She asked.

"Oh nothing…" He laughed sheepishly. "I just had a scary dream…"

Motoko smiled at his awkwardness. At that moment Haruka walked into the driver's seat, looking a little worse for wear.

"Umm, Haruka-oba – Haruka-san." She turned and everyone saw the massive black bags under her bloodshot eyes.

"What!" She seemed really grumpy, as one would when you have no sleep.

"Err…" He wasn't sure how to put it. "How about I drive us there, you rest back here, and maybe catch a kip."

She was about to reply after lighting up her cigarette, but given that her shaky fingers kept missing the lighter's button, she gave in, putting her hands up.

"Fine, you'd better be up to it though. There should be loads of Infected in Osaka from people trying to get to the port."

They got out and swapped seats, Haruka giving him a quick smile. Sitting next to Motoko, the moment she shut the door, she literally passed out against it. Motoko found it amusing, and picked up the blanket that she used to sleep and placed it over Haruka.

Keitaro started the engine, looked back at everyone and out at Mitsune.

"Next stop, Osaka!"

Skidding a little, he headed straight for the motorway into the ruined city.

**10am**

"Faster! GO!" Naru cried.

The van scattered away debris and burnt out cars as it headed into the city core.

Infected were coming out in droves, appearing from alleyways doors and even jumping out windows. Mitsune threw some of her cocktails to distract them, but still more came out.

"Damn…" Keitaro muttered. "This is getting tough –" The road narrowed sharply, catching them off-guard and having to swerve quickly.

"AAAAH!" A crashing to their right signalled the demise of Mitsune's bike, turning on its side and piling into the wall of a house. She clambered to her feet and threw some small bombs at Infected nearby.

Keitaro screeched to a halt. "Get on top, quick!"

Running fast, she jumped and caught the roof rack, then heaved herself up. Without a moment to lose, Keitaro sped on through the increasingly crowded streets.

"Save your bombs unless we really need them!" He cried up to Mitsune, hoping she'd heard.

Rounding a corner, they saw a road blockaded with several cars and buses. A group of four people with guns, roughly in their twenties, had guns and were leaping over and past the cars into a street filled with Infected.

"Let them be…" Keitaro swerved left into another street, ignoring the screams.

They passed through a large street, fairly quiet, save for another small group of survivors, no guns, just pure speed. They all appeared foreign, a man with a shaved head, a black woman with a machete, and finally a short girl in jeans. They were running through buildings and ignoring the Infected as much as they could.

Keitaro stared at the man for a moment, who also looked back, his pale blue eyes reflecting the same determination, to survive, to live on despite the hell they were in. Both nodding imperceptively, they continued on their way, the man and his group ducking into a building while Keitaro drove by, still not sure if he really saw them or not.

Naru pointed at a sign. "That's it! The third turning ahead is direct to the port."

"Okay. Everyone, get ready to bail out and run for your lives once we reach there, we need to be fast to get any boat. Only get the things you can carry, forget everything else."

Haruka woke up, fresh from her comfortable nap, and prepared her clips across her two shoulder holsters. Naru put on some special shoes she'd been working on, with steel soles. Shinobu prayed silently while Suu unveiled two more handguns. Sara worked on her lifting strength by flexing her arms. Motoko had both swords at the ready.

All were prepared for the fight up ahead.

**Ten minutes later**

The van stopped before an impenetrable army blockade, with only a small gap for people to walk through.

"OUT! GO!"

Bursting out of the van, Keitaro and Motoko took the front offence, Sara and Suu were the side lookouts, and Haruka and Mitsune were the rear guard. Naru and Shinobu, without any projectile weaponry were in the middle of everyone.

"No holding back this time Motoko…" Keitaro pulled out the Hina Blade. "Full power until we reach a boat, we'll have no chance otherwise…"

She nodded. "I was about to say the same thing to you…" Unsheathing both her swords smoothly.

"Here they come! Five on the right!" Suu cried from the right.

"Three on the left!" Sara shouted.

Keitaro ran to the left, his sword growing fiery. "Urashima Ken, Ho No Ame!" Making a vertical slice, fire darts flew from the blade and embedded themselves in the Infected, burning holes right through their bodies.

Motoko took the right. "Shinmeiryu, Zan Kuu Sen!" A meteor of compressed air exploded in the midst of the Infected, taking off their legs instantly.

Running on, Haruka and Mitsune prepared themselves as a group of ten approached from behind. Throwing three large bottles, Mitsune created a narrow corridor between the flames. Haruka used the chance to pick off those that ran into this space, not missing any with her limited ammo.

Sara picked up a motorbike that had fallen over, and tossed it onto some Infected, pinning them to the ground and causing the following ones to topple over. Suu blasted a car with a laser, hitting the petrol tank and sending it skywards while also carving into the side of a building. The blast took out around seven others, leaving another dozen or so in flame.

Naru and Shinobu kept close together, concerned only for any road signs. "There!" Shinobu cried. "Another fifty metres to the port area."

"Keep going everyone!" Naru encouraged. "We're nearly there!"

So, for the most important minute of their lives, they powered forwards, eliminating any Infected that got in their way. Each one did their bit to ensure the survival of the others.

**One minute later**

The port was spread out in front of them, dozens of docking lines stretching out into the water. Infected were coming slower from behind, seemingly none were in front.

"My God…" Sara muttered.

"But… Why?" Naru questioned.

"Survival instinct…" Haruka stated grimly. "Every man for himself, even if it means preventing others from leaving…"

Hundreds of boats were either burning, half sunk, vandalised, looted or adrift. The bay was littered with many such boats and ships. One cruise ship even had sunk, lying on its side only one side sticking above the surface. Some boats had dead bodies, indistinguishable from human or Infected.

"Keep moving…" Haruka ran forwards. "Infected are still here, we need to look for a good working boat."

"Okay…" Keitaro looked around. _I wonder why the Infected keep away from the port… _"We'd better lock up the gate here first…"

Everyone helped pushed it closed, Sarah helped greatly by placing three anchors in front of it to prevent the Infected, who were now slavering on the other side from getting through.

"It's good." Motoko said. "It won't hold forever… We need to spread out."

Splitting up into four groups, they each ran to a docking line and started the search.

**With Keitaro and Shinobu**

There were mostly abandoned boats on this one, and they were merely fishing boats. _This isn't looking good already, all the best ones might have already been taken out. _

Shinobu stuck close to him, always having one hand on his top, while checking each ship closely.

"Sempai… These are all old and abandoned."

"I know Shinobu-chan…" He admitted. "A shame really, we'll go right to the end though, just to be sure, then we can look at another line."

She nodded brightly. "Okay!"

He looked at her briefly. _I haven't really spoken to her since her nightmare… _"How… How are you?"

She was surprised that he actually wanted to know. "I… I'm fine, just a little tired and short of breath." Her cheeks were rosy, not from blushing, but from the long run a few moments earlier.

"Sorry about that, we had to get out of the van…"

"No, it's okay!" She waved her hands in front of her frantically. "A bit of exercise is good for me."

He smiled. "Right, let's keep looking!"

She grinned back and gave his arm a quick hug.

**With Motoko and Suu**

"These boats are too small…" Suu mumbled.

"What!" Motoko was looking up at a large personal ship, quite luxurious even from the outside. "This is massive, Suu!"

"I've seen better…" She walked on, hands behind her head, before doubling over.

"Suu!" Motoko ran to her side and helped her up. "You –"

A pool of blood was on the floor as Suu got up, her mouth and lower lip completely soaked in the red liquid.

"Suu is... I… don't have much time…"

Motoko closed her eyes. _Even Suu, the liveliest of all of us, is struggling and in constant pain. _

"Suu, if you want, you can ride on my back…"

"Nah…" She walked on ahead, wiping her mouth with some paper she got out of her bag. "If I walk I don't hurt so much…"

"I see…" Motoko understood, knowing that at this moment, Suu was crying, biting into her lip as the tears streamed out. "I think there should be a good ship out here, we'll need to look inside to be sure…"

**With Mitsune and Sara**

Mitsune watched the young girl walk; she no longer had the frightened eyes that she had when they first met. She smirked.

"You were impressive back there."

"I know!" She turned her nose up.

"My… What an ego you have…" Mitsune mocked.

"I don't have an ego!" She berated.

"Right, you're still a kid, I forget…"

"What!" She was about to hit Mitsune, before she spoke again.

"It's okay, I was only teasing you…" Things calmed down and they continued to walk side by side through rows of fishing boats and even some poor sailing boats (without the sails).

"Still, you're really strong, not even Naru could do what you did."

"Papa taught me a few things…" She walked on, her face covered in shadow. "I lifted up his fossils and things from his archaeology sites often, so that made me stronger."

"Not bad…" Mitsune patted the girl on the head. "You're a tough little warrior."

She growled a bit but said nothing in retort. "I suppose I am now… I've killed a few people now…"

Mitsune was on the same wavelength as her. "Same here. I didn't want to, but I… We had no choice. Kill or be killed. Against the Infected, against the soldiers, against anyone or anything that stops us from leaving." She lowered herself to face the blonde child and placed her hands on Sara's shoulders. "Don't regret what you have done. The past can't be changed. All you can do is try to create a better future for yourself."

Surprised by the sincerity and logic in the elder woman's words, Sara unwillingly shed tears of her own repressed sadness from her earlier actions. She lunged at and hugged Mitsune, squeezing her tightly.

"I… I… I'm a murderer… I killed a soldier…" She sobbed.

"There, there…" Mitsune stroked her long hair, as her wracked body shook. "You're human, killers wouldn't feel such emotions afterwards."

"R… Really?" Her bloodshot eyes stared imploringly at Mitsune, who opened her own in return.

"Really, really." She winked. She pulled Sara into the hug again, to allow her to subtly dry her tears in the leather bike suit.

The view pans away from them, still fixed in this position.

**With Haruka and Naru**

"Hmm, this could be promising…"

Haruka was looking down at an impressive collection of ships, obviously owned by the former wealthy people of Japan.

"If only one was good enough, we'll need to check out all of them Naru."

"Okay Haruka-san."

"Be careful for –"

A screech came from the boat Naru just boarded. Not hesitating for a moment, Naru performed a roundhouse kick to its neck, sending it over the edge of the boat into the water.

"Naru! You okay!" Haruka ran up beside her.

"I'm fine…" She looked at the splashing below them. "Hey, look at this…"

The Infected woman was screeching and clawing at the sides of the boat, presumably to get at the women above. However, she had her mouth open and was taking in water. Soon her scraping slowed and she floated down and away from the boat.

"Looks like they can't handle water, they drown easy…"

"Maybe that's why they keep away…" Haruka observed. "This might be to our advantage now." She looked to her colleague. "Promise me that we stay together now, one scratch and…" The sentence didn't need finishing.

"Let's check each one, just to be sure."

**Ten minutes later**

"Everyone!" Haruka cried. "We've found one!"

"Same here!" Suu shouted back. "No fuel though…"

"I found a large amount in a fishing boat!" Keitaro added.

Meeting up in the luxurious quarter, they were staring up at a large private vessel. There was an anime picture at the front in place of the name.

Keitaro packed in the fuel, in case they needed it during the journey. The others had raided the other boats for food and water, putting them in the kitchen downstairs.

"We're lucky to have found such a big ship…" Keitaro was glad.

"The others had dead people in there, we weren't sure if they were Infected, so we didn't go near the blood." She looked up at the one they were all boarding. "I think this one belonged to a manga artist." Haruka said. "I found loads of practice drawings, along with some final drafts that hadn't been sent out yet."

"Heh, poor guy… All that work and no one will be able to see it." Mitsune smirked.

"Okay, we're done." Naru stated, clapping her hands.

"All aboard!" Suu shouted enthusiastically.

"Oh wait…" Haruka explained what happened earlier, and that the Infected couldn't swim. "So, basically they can't get off the island."

"You okay Narusegawa?" Keitaro asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." She was tired of constantly being asked that.

"Anything else?" Haruka asked.

Shinobu was quiet all along, but spoke up. "I… I'm just sad I'm leaving. This is… was my home…" She looked around, the city of Osaka was in front of her, desolate, some parts burning, the Infected still screeching at the gates.

Motoko put a hand on her arm. "This country was all our home, but we have to leave, it's a war zone all over."

"I know… It's just…" She began crying, so did Sara and even Naru. Shinobu hugged Motoko, who returned it gently.

"It'll be fine." Motoko stared ahead, recalling the memories she had of Hinata-sou. "You can make a new home somewhere else. We all have to do this, so you won't be alone… A new home will also have new memories…"

She stood there, still crying.

**Ten minutes later**

The ship cast off from the dock, pulling away slowly, Haruka piloting it out.

"You can drive this thing?" Keitaro asked, impressed.

She stubbed her cigarette into his forehead. "Don't doubt me nephew."

A crashing sound from the streets of Osaka made them turn their heads.

"Oh no…" Keitaro had a bad feeling. "Faster!" He pushed forwards on the thrust, making the ship lurch forwards, accelerating quickly.

The smashing sounds were followed by dozens of pained screeches, and metal breaking open.

"The gate! Look!" Shinobu yelled.

The black and red truck was steaming down the dock line towards them. Keitaro pushed the lever down all the way, so that they were too far from the docks to be reached. This didn't stop Kanako; she didn't slow for a second.

"She won't… She can't!" Naru said in a fearful voice.

Sure enough she did, she launched the truck of the end of the line. It hurtled through the air in slow motion. Ripping open the top of the cabin, Kanako jumped on the roof and looked straight into Keitaro's eyes. Calculating the distance, she realised they were too far away either jump to, or swim to. Screaming in frustration, she back flipped off the truck onto solid ground, as it splashed into the water.

"Soon oniichan…" She held her head as another migraine collided with her senses.

The horde advanced on her, now that the gates weren't in their way, though she ran over several of them, a large number remained.

She made a great effort to speak, her left arm growing more violent. "Get… out… of…" Her migraine reached insanity level. "My… WAY!"

She made an ear-splitting screech and ran at them.

**Ten minutes later**

"Kanako…" Keitaro wondered. "What's happened to you?"

He began to reminisce of the old days, a shy girl with a long fringe who he saw occasionally. He chuckled when he saw her and fed her loads of bread, since their family owned a bakery. They wrote to each other every week, talking about the smallest of things. He hasn't seen her in a few years since she started travelling with Grandma Hina.

Haruka recognised that look of his. "Thinking of the past Keitaro?"

"Mmm… Just of Kanako…"

"She really liked you a lot when you were both kids, she adored you."

"Nah… She couldn't have, I'm her brother." He stared out to sea, not knowing that Haruka was thinking the opposite. _It's just that, she doesn't think of you as a brother, but as a man… _

Elsewhere on the ship, staring out at the foggy sea, Sara sighed. _The salt is making my eyes sting… _Rubbing them hard, she was able to make the tingling sensation go away, though she noticed something and started to focus in the distance. _What is that? _She saw a small pipe sticking out of the surface of the water, then vanishing. _Why? Wha- _Soon, she saw something that gave her chills down her spine.

"EVERYONE!" She screamed in pure fear. "LOOK!"

Running to her side, looking out over the right side of the ship, they were stunned.

"What the hell…?" Mitsune shuddered.

Large objects had appeared from the cover of the fog, and were advancing on their position.

"Th… They don't seem happy to see us…" Shinobu shivered.

From all sides they were surrounded by a dozen battleships, including one or two aircraft carriers.

"HMS Illustrious on the left!" Keitaro shouted.

"USS Kitty Hawk as well!" Motoko added.

"FGS Hessen, D603 Duquesne, F 573 Scirocco, 170 Lanzhou…" Sara read out.

"Hey, some subs have surfaced behind us!" Suu pointed at the black shapes.

_This can't be good news for us… _Haruka thought. _All the major countries are here… _

Helicopters took off from the aircraft carriers and hovered over the small ship.

The speakerphone flared up on one of them "Stop your ship and lower anchor, prepare to be boarded!"

"Why? What have we done wrong?" Keitaro shouted back.

"Emergency biological contagion quarantine procedures. You're not going anywhere."

"Wait! We need to get to Okinawa!"

"No way!" The soldiers raised their weapons. "Keep your hands up until our contamination team arrives."

"Damn…" Haruka muttered, doing as the man said.

"More soldiers…" Everyone put their hands up. Mitsune was fed up. "Why do they always want to stop us?"

Suu's strange pendant around her neck, with the three eye symbol emblazoned on it, had started to glow and vibrate, attracting her attention.

She looked down, and widened her eyes. "Huh, oniichan gave this to me…What does this –"

An explosion of a shell landing in the sea was heard from behind the ship group. The people in the chopper looked around nervously. "Are we under attack?"

An immense vessel, at least twice the height and width of the tallest battle ship appeared from the fog, following by ten other normal sized ships. "This is the Molmol Defence Force. We are ordering the UN to pull away from their current positions. The princess aboard that ship has diplomatic immunity, and thus her companions also. This is a breach of international security and invasion of diplomatic rights."

The HMS Illustrious opened its loudspeakers. "Negative, each person is a possible carrier of the pandemic level Rage Virus Infection, and as such as under the WHO recommendations, should be taken in by the UN to be quarantined immediately."

The Molmol Behemoth Class ship ignored the comment. "If you do not pull away your helicopters from the ship in ten seconds, we shall attack without hesitation."

"To do so would be an act of war." The USS Kitty Hawk replied. "We will not hold back."

Five more seconds passed until the cannons of all the Molmol ships fired upon the UN fleet leading to warning klaxons sounding all over them. "Attack the enemy!" "Scramble all jets!" "Dive, dive, dive!"

"Molmol Air Force, launch missiles!"

From the low clouds, giant armoured zeppelins appeared, firing missiles at the fleet, disabling their weapons first. The radio on the small ship turned on, the voice of the Molmol commander was coming through clearly. "Be prepared to depart, we shall support you and provide safe passage to Okinawa by delaying the fleet. Good luck!"

"Don't you dare move from here!" The soldiers in the chopper were nervous, their ships were being damaged from the multiple cannon blasts. "Shit! Incoming!" A small, fast and manoeuvrable plane from the Molmol zeppelins flew at them. "Go! Go!"

Once the weapons were no longer trained on them, Haruka put the throttle and full blast, sending the ship hurtling towards the fleet.

"Arretez!" Soldiers on the Duquesne bellowed out, aiming their weapons onto the tiny ship.

The Molmol Air Force destroyed three of their cannons, and the Navy moved forwards, forcing a safe corridor between the fleet for the Hinata crew to get out. Jets from the carriers had started to take off, and they were engaging the slower larger foe.

"Everyone, keep your heads down, they might start shooting us from the ships, we're going at full speed so hold on tight!" Haruka enabled the booster to give it that extra edge.

One of the zeppelins had taken heavy damage and was smoking all over. There were several ships on both sides with plumes of smoke rising above the battlefield. Thankfully the speed of the jets was countered by the thick armour of its enemies. There were many chaff clouds and flares in the air to prevent them from firing missiles at the ship.

The subs had tried to torpedo the battleships, but the armour was more than enough to deal with them. Annoyed by the underwater threat, the ships deployed water drones that scouted the regions around them, and to automatically detonate any explosive device. This prevented any more damage to the ships

Soon the private ship had passed the blockade and was now on its way to the island of Okinawa. Passing by the commander's Behemoth, they all saw the crewmembers saluting them. Suu stood up and returned the salute, and beamed joyously.

"That signal meant that they were nearby I guess…" Suu smiled once more.

After they had left the war zone, everyone rounded on Suu.

"Nahahaha!" She laughed. "I'm a princess of a small country…"

In the end, they gave up trying to get any more details from her, and went about searching the seas for any trailing ships.

"Not sure how long it takes to get there, so relax for now." Haruka said to everyone. She kept the ship near top speed so they'd get there sooner rather than later.

The rest of the crew took this opportunity to rest, some going downstairs in the lounge to find a comfy armchair, others staying on deck.

All were thinking about what they could be expecting at Okinawa.

**Meanwhile**

**Osaka**

"Shit…" Kanako cut through another Infected child. "This is the last ship, they took the only good one left. There's no fuel left around here either."

Jumping up onto a flagpole to get away from the Infected crowding around her, she though. _Where should I go now? _Analysing her choice, only one seemed good enough. _I see… It's like that is it? _

She smirked. Looking down at her clothes, she saw it was completely covered in blood. _I'd better change first… _Leaping off the pole, she landed away from the Infected and ran into Osaka, her destination set.

**Five hours later**

**South of Osaka**

"I can't believe it…" The captain of the Illustrious was still in shock. "How could they disable our weapons so easily!"

The vice-captain came up with the completed damage report. "Sir, our primary weaponry is offline, as is our anti air defences."

The captain sighed. "Casualties?"

"Eleven injured sir, those stationed near the cannons. None dead."

They were both surprised. _Did they mean to just stop us attacking that small ship? Not to sink us completely? _The captain stared out at his ship, water spraying over some of the fires that had sprung up on the deck.

"Sir!" The radar lookout pulled off his headphones. "We have an unidentified plane heading towards our position!"

"What? From where?"

"Japan, sir."

_Damn, we had no patrols over the south for a while, it must another one… _"IFF status?"

"Japanese, the pilot refuses to respond to our hails."

They all looked up to see the shadow of the plane looming overhead. The UN fleet had all their SAM sites taken out, so all they could do was watch as it soared above, tauntingly slow.

The captain recognised the markings. "An F-4EJ Kai, damn…"

**Meanwhile**

**Aboard the plane**

Glancing down at the fleet, Kanako raising an eyebrow. _Why aren't they firing? _Turning on the afterburners, she heading straight for the island of Okinawa.

"Only a matter of time now…" Her fangs became visible over her lower lip, and her face became covered in shadow. "…until I finally get you…"

Panning away, the jet stormed away into the far distance.

**At that moment**

**Aboard the ship**

"There it is!" Suu cried. "Okinawa!"

"Slow down a bit Haruka-san." Motoko asked. "We need to see if the noise attracted any Infected…"

"True…" She cruised the ship to a small dock, awaiting any response from the island.

Someone walked out of the trees from a hidden path.

"Ara, ara…"

"I'd know that voice anywhere!" Naru beamed.

"Turtle girl!" Mitsune cried.

"Naru-san… Kitsune-san…" Mutsumi walked up to them, same as always, with a cheerful expression. Tama was on her head, giving a 'Myu' and a wave.

Running off the ship, everyone gave her a big hug. "You're alive!" Keitaro said, relieved.

"Weird new pet you got there…" Naru pointed out.

Mutsumi was stroking the strange black cat with large ears in her arms. "She seemed sad, so I gave her some food and she's stayed ever since. Tama likes her." The cat perked up, opening one eye, then 'nya-ing' once before napping again.

"But, aren't you afraid?" Motoko asked.

"Ara… Why would I be?" Face faulting, everyone picked themselves up and started speaking about the Infected. "Ah, that… No, none got over here…"

Haruka breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, because -"

"Kyaaa! Suu!" Shinobu cried.

The foreigner was on the ground, blood leaking from her mouth and nose. "Oh no!" Shinobu lifted up her head. "Suu… Wake up…" She started to cry. _We're running out of time… _

"Ara… Let's bring her inside…" Mutsumi recognised the danger immediately. Motoko picked up the little girl and they rushed to her home.

**4:02pm**

**Above Okinawa**

"This seems to be it…" Kanako stared down at the tiny island. "No landing strip… Guess I'll have to…"

A few seconds later, the canopy burst open, and Kanako flew out via the ejector seat. Breaking away from the chair, her parachute opened up, and she began to float gracefully down onto the island.

Her eyes began to glow in anticipation.

**4:27pm**

**Otohime household**

"Ara… She's sleeping soundly now…" Natsumi came out of the room with her daughter, Mutsumi, following close behind. "Your friend needs a hospital quickly, we don't have enough resources here…"

"I know where we have to take her…" Shinobu whispered. "The kingdom of Molmol."

Everyone looked at each other, not having heard of the place.

"We… we should let her rest…" Keitaro spoke up, still shocked at how seriously she had deteriorated.

All agreed, and they went about the home, trying to relax, heal, sleep, or just to walk about, trying to get out the horrible memories of the Infected.

**Seven minutes later**

Shinobu was looking out at the grounds, Mutsumi lived on a paradise island, sandy beaches, palm trees, and hot weather.

"Haaah…" She sighed out loud, staring out at the calm sea.

Soft sounds of feet padding across sand came from behind her. Spinning wildly, she fell off the tree stump, and looked up to see none other than…

"SUU!"

Her friend seemed much better, a little unsteady on her feet. Her blonde hair cast a deep shadow over her face.

"You should be resting… You're…"

Shinobu stopped, the strange mood she had all day returning. Putting her hands to her mouth. "No… It can't be… Why, Suu?"

Staring up into the setting sun, Suu glared at Shinobu, her eyes crimson. Reaching out for her friend, she didn't give her time to scream.

**Five minutes later**

Mitsune was outside, taking stock of her supplies.

"So, that makes it four of the dragon, six of the medium tiger, and only one of the weak raccoon sakes left." She started to weep to herself. "My whole collection… down to these few…"

Someone came out of the bushes, Mitsune glanced back. "Hey Shinobu, any chance of a snack before dinner?"

While she was too preoccupied with her backpack of goods, Shinobu's red gaze bore down upon her.

**Three minutes later**

Sara sat in the quiet bathroom in the Otohime home. They had opened up the guest wing for all of them, so no one really used that particular one. She was staring into the mirror, her eyes still showing signs of recent tears.

"Damn it, need to put more water…"

Lowering her face, she splashed more water on her face, rubbing it gently into her eyes. Standing up, she recoiled when she saw Mitsune right behind her.

"Ah! Oh… Hey there fox lady…" She looked up through the mirror. "You been crying too, eh?" Her face grew whiter with realisation. "No, wait… that's not –"

**One minute later**

Elsewhere in the quiet corridor, Naru was lying down on her bed, not really focussing on anything in particular. _We've been through so much… I can't believe we're still alive… _She stopped when she though of one person who didn't make it. _Seta-san… Y… You should be here with us… _

Her door opened, and she saw the short figure of the American girl walking in. "Ah, Sara-chan…" Naru sat up, looking down at her golden locks. "What's up?"

Jerking upwards, her bloody eyes and sharp teeth were all that Naru remembered.

**Meanwhile**

**In the living room**

"It's a bit quiet here…" Keitaro wondered out loud.

Motoko nodded back, her swords were still at her side. "Still, perfect for relaxing…" She looked out at the dying sun. "Urashima, I'm going out for a walk, take care…"

"See you Motoko-chan." He continued to read a book he picked up from Mutsumi's library. _Haruka-san has gone to speak with Natsumi-san and the other people on the island in order to get away as soon as possible… _He turned the page. _Not sure how long it will take though… _

A sound at the doorway from the corridor caught his attention. Naru was staggering at the corner, holding on to keep her balance.

"Narusegawa!" Dropping the book, he ran to her and helped her up.

She looked up, her nervous brown eyes staring back. "K… Keitaro…"

**Meanwhile**

**On the beach**

Motoko was uneasy. _What is this feeling… Have we forgotten something…? _She ruled out Infected, as everyone swore there weren't any in Okinawa, even from unwilling leakages. _Are any of us Infected? _She shook that off immediately. _We'd know in a few seconds anyway… _

Walking on to clear her head, she came across a perfect view of the sea from a tree stump. Sitting down to appreciate it, she almost forgot everything till she placed her hand on the stump. _What! _Standing upright, she looked at the ground. _Displaced sand… Two sets of footprints? _Putting her hand to the stump again, she sensed something. _Is this… ki? It's such a low level that unless I'd touch it I couldn't tell it was here… _

"This is bad…" Running back to the home, she had a hand to her swords, ready for battle.

**Meanwhile**

**The living room**

"You sure you're okay, Narusegawa?" He passed her some rice cakes that Natsumi made. "You haven't said a word for ages…"

She lowered her head, a blush spreading across her cheeks. Shifting closer to him on the couch, she leaned on his arm, eliciting a similar redness on his face. "N… Narusegawa!"

**Nearby on the island**

Motoko ploughed through more foliage, trying to stay on the same path. _I hope I'm not too late… _

**Back at the house**

Keitaro was lying on his back, Naru on top of him, looking at him with sad, loving eyes. They were like that for a few minutes. "Na… Narusegawa, we can't do this… The others…"

"I don't care…"

She lowered herself, bringing their lips close to one another.

"Urashima! There's been a –" Motoko stopped dead upon seeing the two of them bare inches away from each other. The kendo girl's frustration grew as she unsheathed her trusty blade. "How can you be molesting Naru-sempai at…" Images of Keitaro flashed through her mind, his courage, strength, and heroics, and she shed a tear of betrayal. She flung an attack at him. "…at a time like this!"

Keitaro held out a hand, his eyes boggling outwards. "W… Wait I didn't…!"

The attack smashed up the sofa, sending debris and dust into the air. Motoko breathed roughly. "Urashima! Where are you?"

A hand appeared from the smoke, feeling the ground, and Motoko grabbed hold of it, dragging the ronin out.

"How dare you force yourself upon Naru-sempai!"

"How was I forcing her when she was on top of me?"

"Enough, you probably drugged her in some sick desire for freedom…" She lowered her face. "I thought we… You promised…"

"Hang on…" Keitaro turned around. "What happened to Narusegawa?"

Motoko forgot what she was saying and was worried. "I… I don't know…"

A female figure walked out of the smoke, striding out with a purpose. "Narusegawa! You're okay!"

"Naru-sempai, I apologise, I thought he -"

"Spare your excuses…" Naru got nearer to Keitaro. "I just wanted to be alone with my Keitaro, and you interfered."

"I…" Motoko was stunned silent.

"Narusegawa, that was mean. You're not being yourself lately…"

Motoko narrowed her eyes. _She was on top of him, and she did initiate the kiss, but why…? She had little contact with him during our journey. _

"Keitaro, do you love me?" Naru asked.

"Wh… Wh… What do you mean?" He stammered, veering back against the wall.

"I said…" She got up real close and planted both arms around his head, preventing his escape. "Do you love me?"

"I… I…" His face was bright red.

"I love you, Keitaro…" Her expression was determined and serious.

He blanched, his glasses cracking from shock. _She… She loves me? _

Motoko dropped more tears, her warrior's code of honour clashing with her jealousy as a woman. _I won't accept this! _She raised her blade up. "Shinmeiryu Ougi, Zanma Ken..." Keitaro looked over, recognising that ultimate attack. "Ni No Tachi!"

The wind blades powered up through the floor, reaching the two of them, destroying the wall in the process.

"Mo… Motoko-chan…" Keitaro coughed, walking towards her slowly. "I…" He looked down, his heart torn in two. Motoko too looked down, her blade lowered in disgrace.

"Now you've done it." A voice said from the cloud.

**At the nearest town**

Haruka was speaking to the town elders, discussing ways to get off Okinawa, when her nerve endings fired up. _Oh my God… _She looked back in the direction of the house.

"That's…"

**Meanwhile**

**At the house**

Naru walked out of the shadows, but her face bore many scars, even her clothing and hair seemed to be torn in many places. Her skin was peeling off bit by bit.

"NO!" Motoko unsheathed her sister's odachi.

Keitaro looked at Naru in horror. "Narusegawa, your face…"

"Looks like I don't need to hide any more…" In a flurry of motion, she tore off her mask and undressed to reveal her true face.

"K… Kanako…" Keitaro gasped. His sister was wearing a black dress with a white top, the edges looking like long petals. Her expression was cruel.

"There's no escape from here…" She walked closer to him. "I've been looking for you throughout Japan…" Her ki skyrocketed. "Now I have you at last…"

"Zan Gan Ken!" The slice shaved the floor in two, splitting the roof and walls apart. "Keitaro, let's get out of here!"

_Shit… I don't want to fight her… _He was half dragged by Motoko towards the large hole in the wall. His right arm vibrated, and from within the smoke the Hina Blade flew out and snapped to his hand.

"Seems like it knows there's going to be a battle again…" Motoko mused out loud. Once they were in a large open area they stopped and faced the house. "There's no way off this island, the boat has no fuel left, so we have to fight again…"

"Let's hope this is the last time…" Keitaro sighed.

Kanako calmly stepped out from the rubble and stood roughly ten metres away.

"I've been through hell to find you…" She clutched her head as her vision prickled. "I even went into Tokyo, from where 'it' all began, Toudai…"

"What!" Keitaro was amazed. "The Infected came from Toudai?"

"Hina-obaachan said it was too dangerous… But I still went… And… I found something." She put her hands up to her face, beneath her fringe.

"Wh… What was it…?" Motoko asked, the tense environment growing stiffer.

Kanako lowered her hands and held out two small round objects, brown in colour. "The cure…" Raising her face, she watched them closely, taking in their fearful expressions upon their first good look at her bright scarlet eyes.

"KANAKO!" Keitaro staggered back, disbelief halting him from either running or fighting. "Wh… Why…? How?"

She crushed the colour contacts and threw them away. "I guess it wasn't perfect… A cure to rage should be peace and calm. I don't think they were anywhere near close to the perfect antidote." Her left arm was moving independently, she couldn't hold it back with her other hand. "I just..." Her sight reverted to its motion sensing mode, changing everything into red and white. "No… Not again…" She doubled forwards, hugging herself in pain, before stretching back, arms wide and screeching to the evening sky.

"Urashima!" Keitaro dodged to his right as Kanako lunged forwards, her left claw first.

Motoko launched one attack, managing to cut the Infected across both legs, blood flowing freely.

"Shit, not good…" She warned Keitaro. "Don't touch her blood… It may be worse than the Infected…"

He nodded, and pulled out the blade, the black metal shaking, eager to taste more blood. _I can't hit my sister… _Not listening to his complaints, the sword ignited, flames spewing from its very surface.

Kanako jumped in, her arms forwards. Cursing to himself, Keitaro parried her hands with the blunt edge of the blade, throwing her back after burning her palms.

Not giving up, she punched the ground, letting off a stream of shockwaves that threatened to topple the others. Motoko got clear, but Keitaro tripped on a piece of rubble. Kanako took this chance to get closer.

"Urashima!" Motoko started to run to protect him.

_This isn't fair… I don't want to attack her…! _Keitaro lifted up the blade and sliced the earth in front of him, creating a pillar of fire around him and Motoko, surprising Kanako by stopping her tracks. Getting to his feet he began to formulate a plan.

"There must be another way… I'm not killing her…" He stated.

"You saw her! She changed like Seta did!" Motoko insisted.

"No…" He was firm but sombre. "She's lasted this long… We need to help her more than anything…"

"How do you suggest that? She's out to kill us both, one touch from her and we might 'change' also…"

The fire above them began to die down. "Damn…" He struggled to think of something. "Okay, keep fighting, but don't kill or maim her…"

Motoko sighed. "Fine, but if there is no alternative, I will not hesitate…"

He nodded, knowing how serious she was. "If the worst happens, kill her outright, and painlessly, she wouldn't want to suffer…" Keitaro played back the deaths of those he'd killed since the short time he woke up from his coma, the three most important being Naru's sister, Kentaro, and Nakata. He didn't want his own sister to have her unlife prolonged longer than necessary.

The fire level was just above their heads now, holding their blades, they rushed out of the column to the sound of screeching. Kanako was running on all fours at them. Leaping, she just missed Motoko and skidded to a halt.

"Zan Kuu Sen!" The ball exploded in front of the young girl, showering her with grass, sand and soil. Shielding her face with both arms, she was pushed back against a tree.

Keitaro held the grip with both hands, struggling to limit the energy flowing from within. _Please, with the minimum of power… _He swung the blade, sending out weak swirling flames that covered her body. Hearing her pain, he grimaced at thinking how she must be feeling.

When they died down, his thoughts immediately vanished, followed by major blood loss, staggering backwards, he held onto his nose desperately.

"Urashima…" Motoko was growling at him.

"It wasn't my fault!" He shouted back.

Kanako stood there, still in her Infected state, but with much less attire, almost all her bare flesh showing, the tiniest scraps of cloth protecting what remained of her dignity. Her expression changed to one of shock, with the faintest of blushes crossing her cheeks, but the maroon haze returned and she scowled down at him.

_What was that? She almost returned to normal… _Kanako placed her right hand on the palm tree next to her. _What is she up to? _Digging her fingers in, she roared and lifted the entire plant, roots and all, from the sandy grass.

Keitaro stood, his mouth agape. _H… How strong is she! _Grabbing it with the other arm, she swung it like a bat. _Shit! _He took the blow full in his stomach, unable to block with the sword, and flew backwards into several more trees, his bones creaking from the impact. _Ouch… Not even Narusegawa's punches hurt this much… _Another screech and she was in the air now, about to smash it into him.

Jumping from the side, Motoko sliced the tree in half, the front half falling harmlessly before Keitaro. She panted, feeling her arms gently. _The pain… It's returning… _Frustrated sounds were heard from behind her, and the rest of it was thrown at her.

"Motoko-chan!" Keitaro defended her, and called out some of the fire to cut it in two, through the middle, letting the rest fall besides them.

He ran forwards as Motoko picked herself up. _Why did she act different when her clothes were burned off? _Kanako moved in for the kill, her nails somewhat sharper than usual, and ki-charged, making it possible to repel his blows. _She seemed to know that being naked was bad… And she was embarrassed… _

Feinting for a second, she ducked and swept him off his feet. Now in mid air, he knew he was in deep trouble. Motoko screamed something in the distance but he couldn't quite catch it, his attention being on the bloody claw descending onto him.

The sound of fracturing was heard and he landed in a heap, Kanako's left hand breaking some of his ribs, her nails still embedded slightly in his chest. Keitaro gasped, blood building up in his mouth. _Crap, internal injuries… _Lifting him up by his flesh, his agony apparent in his shriek of pain, his sister thrust her other ki-charged palm to push him far away, into the arms of a horrified Motoko.

"K… Keitaro…" His chest was slowly oozing blood out, more specks of the life fluid spat out of his mouth. _Her nails had her own blood on them… _

Kanako licked the blood from her fingers, leaving a trail over her lips. Grinning maliciously, she ran to the survivor. Picking up her two swords, Motoko saw red.

"You… You hurt Keitaro…" Her swords began to crackle, white and blue lightning encircling the blades. Tears began to form as she too ran closer. "He's your own brother!"

The creature stumbled, the look of recognition flickering in her eyes. Not seeing this, Motoko swung at her with both blades. The katana was parried, yet the odachi got through her defences. The screeching merged with screams as it clutched at the left arm, a large gouge across the top of the arm releasing a fountain of blood.

Keitaro looked up, his movement almost non-existent as he felt to be a tad paralysed, perhaps with the fear that he might be dying. He saw the change in his sister, and knew that her true self remained locked away while she cried out in suffering. _Th… That's it! _He strained himself, his limbs feeling like a tonne each and jittery, unable to make a normal smooth motion yet. He was trying to sit up, to end everything.

Kanako writhed on the ground, her blood flow having slowed, but the pain remaining, enough to keep her from attacking anyone.

Motoko breathed raggedly. _Keitaro is seriously hurt… I won't let her kill him! I… _The wind picked up as she snarled, squeezing the hilt so tight that her own hands started to bleed. The wind started to gather around her, and the electrical charge in the air grew as her blades summoned up more strength.

"Shinmeiryu Ougi, Mahi No Kyuuden!"

Striking both swords together, a bolt of lightning flew out ad entwined into a large pulsing ball, hitting the younger girl and wrapping around her. She screamed more humanly, the shocks coursing through her body and setting off all her receptors and nerves. The energy pulses were stymieing her movement, the Infected girl's muscles incapacitated for the time being. Her body was buffeted by the continued onslaught.

_Finally… _She stared down at her swords and at the person in front of her. _Somehow… I performed that attack, the one that all who inherit the Shinmeiryu need to master… _She puzzled over that thought. _Why did it work now? _The jolts had stopped affected Kanako, who was now panting and sat awkwardly, her left arm held tightly by the other.

Keitaro was now on his knees crawling to his sister, his mouth still bleeding, the pain boundary having been broken a while ago.

_Keitaro! _Motoko started to walk, but the look in his eyes made her slow. _He's still himself… What does he intend to do? _

Finally, he reached the purple haired girl, who looked up, her eyes still red but no sign of rage or anger, only her true, unbridled emotions.

"Sorry Kanako-chan…" Keitaro apologised, bowing slightly, though that may be to do with him losing balance a tad. "I didn't welcome you properly, did I?" He smiled at her. _I was always running away from her here… _"I'm happy to see you again, oneechan." _All she wanted was a friendly face…_

Tears built up in her eyes, clear liquid as opposed to her own blood.

"Oniichan…"

She moved in quickly and pressed her lips against his, not trying to force his pair open. She held it for a few seconds, much to Keitaro's horror-filled, saucer shaped eyes and thin trail of hormonal blood leaking from his nose. Motoko ground her teeth for a moment, then let it go this time.

"I'm glad I found you…" Her smile washed away all doubt, as she began to teeter. "I…" She fell forwards into his hug as she whispered. "…love you…" Passing out, the smile remained on her face.

Motoko limped towards them, and sat down next to Keitaro, watching the peaceful expression on the girl's face, then to the blush on the person holding her.

"You okay Motoko-chan?" He asked, still looking down at his sister, gently stroking her dark hair.

"Yes, it's just my old injuries playing up…" Even now, she felt her body healing, the pain lessening. "Worry about yourself first… Your ribs are cracked, I could hear them break from where I was standing."

"Yeah…" He coughed up a tiny bit of blood, spitting it out to his right. "We all need the hospital soon, too much fighting…"

Motoko agreed and put her swords down. "This'll be the last time I use them for a long time… I need to recuperate…" She leant against Keitaro, her head resting on his shoulder, Keitaro placed an arm around her back to stop her from toppling, as she started to doze off.

"Keitaro!"

He looked at the house and saw Haruka running out then stopping once she saw Kanako there. Keitaro merely smiled 'everything will be fine'. Looking at the devastation in the region she shrugged, placed a hand to her face and sighed loudly.

"It's amazing how much trouble follows you around…" She smirked, then grew serious. "The others are inside, all knocked out…"

"You mean…?" He looked down at his sister, and Haruka nodded.

"The only two different were Suu, who's still sleeping off her medicine, with Shinobu lying on the floor, and Naru…" She shifted her gaze. "She's… a bit bruised up…"

Keitaro said nothing, his expression neutral. _Kanako probably knew that I liked her… She might've lost control at that point, being the last of all of them. She dressed up as her when she saw me… _

Suu wondered out into the afternoon sun, holding a hand over her face to block out the rays. Haruka turned and walked up to her.

"You shouldn't be walking about Suu… Go back to bed, we'll treat you somewhere…"

"Nah…" She gave one of her confident grins. "I've got a better way…" She pulled out her familiar control box that she used throughout the journey. Opening it up, she removed a smaller black box, the only markings on it being the three eyed logo and a biohazard symbol, the latter two being a shade of red.

"Wh… What is that?" Keitaro asked, knowing that her inventions with one button tended to be fairly violent.

She grinned happily. "Buster Call." She pressed the button as Keitaro and even Haruka braced themselves.

"Huh? Nothing happened…" He mused.

**Meanwhile**

**Molmol Military Docks**

"Sir… We have a Class 1 Critical Level rescue beacon…" The officer's supervisor strode over quickly. "Coordinates are –"

"No need…" The major said. "Only one person has that level of authority. Transmit those coordinates to the Behemoth and all four of the Juggernaut class ships for immediate pickup of Royalty, along with any guests. Inform them to be prepared for and requirements she may need fulfilled."

"Yes sir!" He saluted, before sending out the encrypted messages to those ships.

**Meanwhile**

**Okinawa**

"Ara, ara, what's Bus Treacle?" Mutsumi asked, her face red from running from where Haruka left her. She walked up to Kanako and put a blanket on her from the house, to cover up her skin.

"Suu made it!" She exclaimed, holding it out to her. "Buster Call, only used in emergencies, to send out the five strongest ships to help out or rescue the owner of this."

"But that means -" Keitaro sensed sounds from behind him, and saw in the distance five vessels headed straight for their island.

"Guess we'd better get ready to go then…" Haruka smirked, lighting up a cigarette.

Keitaro whispered to Motoko, who stirred and got up. Pulling up Keitaro, he lifted his sister, and held her in his arms.

"We'd better try and wake the others, and patch up Narusegawa…" He looked to his fellow Toudai student. "Mutsumi, would you and family like to come with us?" He realised what he was saying, looking to the princess. "Th… That is, if she can… Can she Suu-chan?"

"Sure! I like her!" Suu hugged the elder girl, who held a hand to her mouth giggling slightly.

"Ara, ara, it sounds like fun. I'll let my mum and siblings know…"

"Haruka… Could you explain the situation to the others… I need to stay with my sister for a bit longer, till we can cure her somehow…" Haruka raised her eyebrow but shrugged and walked in, followed by Suu and Mutsumi.

"I'll be there with you too." Motoko spoke up, a smile on her face. _Even at the very end, he did his best… Now we're leaving this hellish land… _She held out her hand, squeezing his arm with a warm emotion, one she couldn't quite identify yet but had been growing the past few days.

Keitaro smiled, the same warmth reflected in his eyes as they both turned to the beach front to await the fleet. _I thought so… The only cure to rage and hatred, is love… _

Unbeknownst to either of them, the red thread tied to both their little fingers glowed for several minutes, as the burgeoning feelings between the two only grew stronger from that day forwards.

---

**Author's Notes**

Mahi No Kyuuden – Ball Lightning of Paralysis (corny name, but sounds better in Japanese).

Ho No Ame – Rain of Fire.

Hoped you noticed the references there, One Piece for the Buster Call, the Love Hina Spring special for the Ken Akamatsu's boat they acquired to travel to Okinawa. I also included Jim, Selena and Hannah, though even Keitaro wasn't sure if he saw them… Note that those ships do exist, naturally the Molmol fleet was my imagination, but I had real fun writing that scene. The plane was a modified F-4 Phantom for Japan.

It was about time for a large scale onslaught by the Infected, we've only had scenes with one or two of them, and then it wasn't that exciting. The previous chapter did have a small fight, but hopefully the Osaka final run would have made up for it. I tried to make the fights as realistic as possible (although having ki attacks and fire arrows negates that somewhat) so instead of Sara summoning her clay figures, I had her pick up things with her immense lifting strength. Hopefully this went down well, besides, clay wouldn't really stop Infected if you think about it!

Thus endeth the saga however. I'm glad that I went this far, a story that was inspired by, and started during, the worst year of my life. I really enjoyed writing this story, it helped me to improve my own skills, although I have gotten used to using a thesaurus for alternate words for sword, red, ran, said, etc. I guess all authors do that nowadays.

I hope you all liked reading this as much as I did both writing and rereading it. I'll post up the short epilogue at a later date, which details what happened after they were picked up. This'll be the first story I have actually completed, and it has been a bit of an epic I'd say. Reviews and critiques of the whole story would be appreciated.

Thank you for going on this journey with me, it's been emotional…

- Jason


	10. Epilogue: 28 Days Later

**Love Hina - Nijuuhachi Hi Ato**

**Epilogue**

** 28 Days Later **

**From Motoko's eyes**

A nightmare… That's what we all went through, everybody in our group lost someone they love in the chaos that spread from Japan.

The other countries were lucky though.

The reports that Suu told us were true. Some Infected accidentally got into the cargo holds of some planes, and escaped when they landed. By then, all airports were fully militarised, and the unlucky creatures died under heavy gunfire. There was no further leakage, aside from the blood that lay on the cold tarmac beside the planes.

After the surviving few arrived on the crowded planes, they talked of the Infected and their experiences. These stories were corrupted as they glossed over the details on how they escaped. Rumours spread, extortion, millions of yen for one ticket, and even killing in the terminals. These survivors were not innocent, either they were extremely rich, very strong, or just plain lucky. Regardless, each one would have had to climb over the bodies of those who failed to make it.

The truth will never be known.

Naturally, all flights, cruises and any form of travel to Japan were forbidden, under penalty of death. The UN passed a regulation stating that an expedition mission could 'visit', but only with the express permission of all the members, a 100 vote. This will never happen, which is good.

Japan will never be populated again. The only possibility of this being false is if the Infected eventually die out, or some sort of weapon that can wipe out all biological forms of life. Suffice to say, such technology does not exist, at least not for many years. Although it's more than likely that the human race will use it on each other than risk it on Japan. There is also the chance that one Infected will survive, that's all it took to send the country into hell, devastation and abandonment.

Approximately fifty boats and light aircraft escaped from Japan during the course of the two days after the planes left. All of them were subsequently rescued by the UN. Since then, we were only ones to make it out.

Our departure drew worldwide attention, first because we were such a large group, and secondly due to the Molmol intervention that temporarily crippled the UN southern Japan fleet. Once their ships arrived at Okinawa, we were transported safely to Molmol as guests of honour. The world's media were there to see who could've made it out after a month. Naturally no one wanted to talk, and we were protected by Suu's family.

No, in fact there was one interview, Suu sat in the Royal press hall, in front of hundreds of journalists, photographers and cameras…

**One week after rescue**

"All rise for her Royal Highness, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Molmol." The representative said.

There was a sound of chairs scraping and shoes squeaking as everyone did as they were told. Suu walked in looking serious, she was wearing her traditional sari. Her complexion was much better after getting some treatment for the radiation, though walked with a slight limp as the wound on her stomach affected one of her legs. In her left ear she had a small box with an antenna, able to translate any non-Japanese into her native language. While walking to the seat she spotted the TV cameras and beamed happily waving to them.

She sat down at a table accompanied by a few elite guards and a woman who look similar, but older and with light violet hair.

She waved her hand at everyone in a mildly amused manner "Come on, sit down now." She grinned, pleased by the confused looks in front of her.

Everyone had been briefed beforehand, she was going to give a brief statement, then would allow time for some questions, although it would be up to her whether or not she wanted to answer them.

Suu picked up a document already on the table, cleared her throat, and spoke clearly into the international translator microphone.

"On behalf of the entire Royal Family of Molmol, as Crown Princess to the Throne, I hereby ask for forgiveness from the United Nations for the damage suffered to their fleet by the Molmol Navy. This was not an attack on your nations or organisation as a whole. It was matter of protection of Royalty in the worst possible circumstances, and there was no guarantee that I would be safe in your hands. We will donate the appropriate funds needed to repair the vessels and any personal medical bills and other expenses. I hope this can be resolved amicably, as one day we will be sending a request to join the UN. I also thank you for your leniency in your attitude towards us since that day, allowing us time to give an explanation for our reasons."

She breathed out loudly, scrunched up the paper and threw it over her shoulder. "There, done." She kept her happy expression as she looked over the journalists. "Now, questions please!"

Instantly the room erupted in spontaneous hand raising, though the silence remained. Moving her finger about in a comical way, counting to herself she indicated someone randomly.

"I know you! In that tight light grey suit with the sweat patches!"

The reporter stood up, quite embarrassed, and bowed slightly. "John Simpson, BBC News, your Highness."

She smiled kindly. "Call me Suu."

He smiled back, his professionalism returning. "Suu, you have been through a terrible ordeal, one that few have experienced. I believe the question the world wants to know is, how did you survive in a land where every living person was your enemy?"

Suu pondered how to make the answer short but detailed enough for them to grasp everything. "I was with my friends, each very strong people in their own way. Swords, guns, martial arts and sake." She giggled at the private joke. "I think we all helped each other to survive, and worked together." She looked down. "We killed many of the Infected, I've lost count. Each time we did, we knew that they were humans, but –" She looked up, her stare composed. "- we never lost hope, not even when…" She paused again. "… when one of us became Infected, not even after we ran into the soldiers…"

This drew a surprised reaction from the crowd, unaware that other humans were still there. Suu shook her head. "I won't go on about them today, but they're all dead now." She cheered up considerably. "We had a mission, to get out alive. We all focussed on that one goal and we did that through each other's strength. We're alive, here today to speak to you, because of the love and trust we had for one another. And…" She chuckled inside at a certain someone's favourite quote. "Nothing is impossible if you try. You can do anything if you try hard enough."

Mr Simpson smiled and nodded back. "I believe that covers everything I wanted to know, thank you."

"Nahaha, okay, next question!"

Again, the throng of hands reappeared.

"Hmm, okay," She pointed into the audience, "that man with the black, fake Armani suit!"

Amara Suu sighed and rolled her eyes, as the jolted reporter stood up to the sound of chuckles.

"Ted Koppel, ABC Nightline, Princess Suu…" He spoke sincerely.

"There's no need for formalities, just call me Your Maharajasness."

Amara Suu planted a palm on her face muttering 'I don't believe it' under her breath. Some of the reporters sniggered as Mr Koppel played along. "Your Maharajasness… I actually have two questions, quick ones mind." He added quickly upon seeing the representative bristle. "How did you enter Japan? From what I recall, the travel ban was imposed early September, yet you weren't in Japan at that time."

Suu merely shrugged and winked. "It's a secret."

"Finally, there were reports that one of your group is Infected and currently here in Molmol, would you care to corroborate this further?"

Suu smiled back enigmatically. "Everyone who came back with me from Okinawa is a normal human, none of us are Infected."

"Thank you for your replies Your Maharajasness." Mr Koppel gave a short bow and sat down again.

More hands were raised. "I choose you!" The man stood up.

"Pedro Piqueras, RNE, Princesa Suu." He bowed before continuing. "We're aware that in your group, nine escaped from mainland Japan, you included, along with some friends from the virus-free Okinawa. However we have no details of your group as access to them has been highly restricted. We only have some blurry photos of the arrival and in the palace. Could you tell us who travelled with you?"

Suu leaned back pensively, then spoke. "I don't think it matters. Besides, it's up to them to say so if they want… I'd like you to respect their privacy for now, and if they wish to come forward, then let them."

The man thanked her and sat down again. Suu picked another person from the crowd.

"Robert Ménard, RSF, Mademoiselle Suu." He tilted his head downwards and spoke. "I noticed that you seem to be limping, did you suffer an injury while in Japan?"

Amara Suu spoke into her microphone. "The health of Royalty does not –"

"It's okay oneechan." Suu interrupted gently. She turned to the speaker. "Yes I did, but I'm being treated here regularly so I'm healing well." She paused then added. "We were all injured in some way, some seriously, others just needing plenty of sleep. Staying alive was more important than our own physical wellbeing."

Again, more hands were raised after he sat down. Suu picked a striking red-headed woman in a sharp suit.

"Maureen Dowd, New York Times. Suu, what do you plan on doing now that you have left Japan?"

"Dunno…" She gave a bemused gesture. "Maybe run the country for a bit…" She waved her hand in circles to indicate the whole island. "The others… I don't know yet, if they can't get money from their bank accounts in Japan, then I'll give them some, then they can do what they want. They're welcome to stay and live with me, or travel the world. I don't mind what they do, but they're always welcome to come here and visit me." She smiled, remembering how close they had all become.

"Thank you, Suu." Ms Dowd sat down, but as more hands were raised, the representative cleared his throat loudly.

"I'm afraid that's all the questions for now. May I ask you to please not infringe on our guests further as they have been through a hard ordeal. We will inform you if anyone wants to come forward and give an interview."

Suu stood up and waved goodbye to everyone else, dragging her sister out of the room. "Suu! Stop that… You should act more like a princess…" The curtains were closed and the journalists filed out of the room.

**From Motoko's eyes**

And that was it, soon every paper in the world had the entire transcript of the peculiar young heir to the throne of Molmol, with some flattering pictures of her being animated in the press conference. Everyone spoke favourably of her and looked forward to seeing her in the future. Thanks to her words, the UN did nothing more and accepted the donation to repair their ships, and more importantly, their apology. Letters of condolences and support flooded into the palace, from the ordinary person on the street, to some foreign dignitaries, inviting us to dinner or a tour of the White House.

None of us forgot that they all happily ignored and avoided Japan since the quarantine began, so we refused them all.

Suu was clever, she had installed some strange technology around the palace walls. This managed to ruin any attempts to film inside the barrier, and even to take photos with a zoom lens. Our privacy was honoured, though there were one or two who tried to get in, only to be forcefully ejected by the guards.

The reporter was right though, the only photos of us were very grainy, and taken with such a low resolution meant that our faces were nothing but large blocks of colour. We could leave the palace whenever we wanted, there was a secret entrance only we could use, in one of the normal buildings in town, Suu had it there for a while so she could escape from her tutors in the past. She did offer to give us plastic surgery to prevent us from being recognised as Japanese, but we all declined, preferring the easier option of veils and in the case of Keitaro, beards and moustaches. We blended in amongst the tourists and news reporters, wearing traditional Molmol clothes, and generally getting used to other humans again.

It was about a week after her conference that each of us visited the local graveyard, in order to pray…

**1st December**

**4:55pm**

The sun was still high in the sky, being closer to the equator meant that the sun didn't set as early as in Japan. Soon, a group of people entered the cemetery in two private cars (not affiliated with the palace). Everyone got out slowly, their moods fairly sombre. Suu was there as well, albeit wearing a veil to disguise her face in case anyone recognised her. For once, everyone didn't have a disguise on. Motoko wore a long dress similar to her old school uniform, as her hakama and gi were beyond repair and too distinctive. Her katanas were nowhere in sight. Shinobu, Naru, and Mutsumi wore dresses to protect them from the sun, while Keitaro, Mitsune, Sara and Haruka wore trousers or jeans with a top. Kanako came out too, her left arm up to her elbow bandaged securely, wearing a seemingly heavy black suit with odd lumps on it.

Approaching the others, Keitaro smiled at her, receiving one in return, and he escorted her to the shrine that was set up to the Japanese. These had been placed in each country at least once, to always keep in mind the loss that one country produced for the entire world.

The electronics industry suffered greatly, innovation-wise as production was based overseas, the culture all but wiped out, and entire markets wiped out, manga and anime being the main one as the source no longer produced any new series. While some may not have been influential on a world scale, there were those that would miss the items that came out of that country. Only when people realised they would never have any true Japanese goods did people take more notice. Fake grief was expressed by cashing in on the death of the Japanese, the multitude of sushi restaurants popping up the obvious sign of this, auctioneers selling anything from a Meiji era katana to the latest manga from the survivors. The Far East made a killing, almost literally, in selling 'Made in Japan' goods.

Keitaro felt behind Kanako's neck and twisted the small dial there. Her breathing eased and she moved more smoothly.

"Thank you oniichan…" She blushed.

"For today it'll be fine, you've been lucid lately, and deserve a break."

Suu nodded her agreement and walked next to Kanako, hooking her arm into the nook of the left side. She had built a special suit which somehow managed to increase weight. This was to prevent Kanako from running away or going insane, as it reacted to brainwave patterns. If it reverted to a base nature, rage, then the suit would thicken and prevent her from moving. Even when she was human, the suit was kept at a high level to remind her other self that she couldn't just run amok.

Haruka and Motoko glanced back, seeing the relieved expression on Kanako's face. "She's been doing well controlling that side of her…" Motoko wondered.

"It must be hard for her having to deal with it…" Haruka said, troubled. _I thought we would have to kill her… Suu put her in the brig with Keitaro keeping watch, just in case Kanako went back…_

"Did you hear the latest news?" Motoko asked. "Apparently, someone else was found drifting on the sea."

"Well, well, that's surprising…" Haruka muttered. "Who would've thought that would happen?"

Soon they had reached the shrine, past the torii into the small building where the butsudan lay in the centre. Putting some incense sticks in the sand pots, they were about to pray silently before Haruka pulled out a photo of Seta that she kept in her pocket, placing it behind the sticks. He was grinning audaciously, trying to boost his ego. Motoko understood, and brought out one of her sister. She was also in the picture, smiling as much as her elder.

People then brought out things that reminded them of their families. Shinobu had a locket that her parents bought for her last birthday, Naru took off a bracelet her sister gave her, Mitsune brought out a miniature sake bottle keychain, and Sara took off her oversized watch. Suu and Mutsumi had nothing personal tying their families there, but they took out a banana and watermelon respectively, making everyone laugh quietly. Kanako was demure, she was still afraid of what the others thought of her after all that happened. She placed the photo of her and Keitaro next to Seta's picture.

Keitaro had nothing left to remind him of his parents, except for one. He opened up the letter that they wrote before dying. Reading it out loud, everyone took a moment to let the words sink in, before he placed it on the shrine. Everyone placed their hands together and bowed their heads in prayer.

A few minutes later, they walked off, picking up their belongings, leaving the building one by one. Motoko held back a bit and spoke to someone behind her.

"So that person was you then?"

"Yeah… I'm surprised you sensed me…" Shin walked out of the shadows and bowed at the burning incense.

Motoko turned and walked back. "I'm surprised you came here of all places."

He remained bowed. "I heard from the people that picked me up that you lot escaped with a big battle. I knew I'd find you here."

Motoko remained neutral, still not comfortable with the man who married her sister. "What are you going to do now?"

Standing up, he sighed. "I don't know, I'm going to try and start again, fish maybe…"

Motoko relented at last. "You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened to my sister. The least you can do for her is live happily."

He looked at her, surprised. "I thought I'd be saying that to you… I suppose you're right. I still miss her though…"

"We all lost someone, but we can't be sad forever, just lucky that we lived."

"I saw that Kanako made it out and kept her humanity." Motoko gawped at him. "We met in Kyoto, I destroyed the transmitter of that group."

Motoko nodded. "Better to stop others from going there to their deaths waiting for them." She turned serious. "I don't like the fact that you took my sister away from me, but I don't want to see you depressed for her passing."

He smiled wryly. "I understand…" He walked off into the trees. "I'll ask the palace if they need a new fisherman, for now, then I'll see."

Motoko smiled back, walking out into the sun to join up with the others.

"So, what's everyone going to do?" Suu asked.

Many were quiet, unsure themselves as to what they want. Mitsune decided to speak up.

"I've been thinking for a while now, and I know that I'll find it hard to work abroad. The only thing I know I'm good at is writing, my old freelance job was fun while it lasted…" She took in a breath and continued. "I want to write about what happened, to me, to all of us. I know I wasn't there in the beginning, and that I missed out on lots of details, but I want to write my side of the story." Her face grew red with disgrace. "I'm ashamed… I know it'll make money since we're so famous, and…" She opened her eyes and stared at Keitaro. "I want to start paying you back for all the rent I skipped out on."

Keitaro waved his hands at her. "D… Don't be silly Kitsune! You don't need to do that now. I managed to get my money out, the banks graciously froze the exchange rate since before –"

"No…" She stood firm. "I won't have it. I'm paying you back and that's final…"

"Then…" He contemplated his next words carefully. "Then, if you're writing about yourself, write about my side too…" She was shocked. "You'll earn more money that way.

"I don't want to be world famous, but you can also get my experiences." Motoko joined in.

"Auuu, Kitsune-san is being nice to Keitaro…" Shinobu started tearing up. "I'll help too…"

Naru didn't want to be left out. "M… Me too!"

Soon, everyone joined in, Haruka, Sara, Suu, even Mutsumi. Kanako was feeling ignored again and stammered out.

"I… I want to help too…" She turned to her. "No one here knows what I've been through. The pain, the suffering, the unknown…" She picked at her left arm unconsciously. "I want to say so–"

"Don't be sorry, Kanako-san." Shinobu tried to cheer her up. "You just wanted to find sempai, and the cure had side effects…"

"Yeah…" Mitsune put a hand on her shoulder. "We've forgiven you a long time ago."

"We still haven't adjusted properly…" Motoko continued. "It's hard to think that there's no more Infected running about. It takes some getting used to."

Haruka took a puff on her cigarette. "These things take time… Soon you'll be normal again, and can do whatever you want."

Kanako shed clear tears. "Th… Thank you… It really means a lot to me…" She wiped her eyes roughly, leaving a sheen over her cheeks.

Keitaro pulled her closer to him. "You're my only family now, I need to take care of you."

She sniffed as she hugged him, the group happy that they finally revealed what made them so cautious. Mitsune pulled out a notebook.

"So, I'll make this a diary of sorts, of what happened before, and then when each person met up… I hate to say this, but it'll be a best seller!"

"I know you can do it justice Kitsune." Keitaro grinned. Everyone agreed, giving thumbs-up signs and a general positive vibe.

"I think it would help us too…" Motoko stated. "A way to let our demons go finally…"

Murmurs of agreement were heard as they walked back to the cars. Shinobu skipped over next to Suu.

"How are you Suu? Does it hurt still?"

Suu gave a brave face. "Yeah, a little…" She massaged her stomach. "I only absorbed around 150 REM… That's why the blood wouldn't stop flowing." Shinobu winced at the thought. "The doctors are doing okay, the radiation has gone, but I'm still getting patched up." Shinobu frowned slightly until Suu clarified. "Stitches. Until they can be removed, I can't jump about for a bit." She grinned and grabbed her friend's hand, changing the subject radically. "Shinobu! Do you want to live with me forever?"

"Huh!" Her eyes turned into swirls as they walked on ahead of the others. "Auuu… This is too fast Suu… I'm not ready for -"

"They seem to be having fun." Naru muttered.

"Guess the peace around here can do that…" Mitsune replied, glancing sideways at her friend. She noticed the subtle stares at Kanako. _So, she still doesn't trust her… _Sighing inside she knew it was a lost cause. _Well, she was beaten up by her back in Okinawa, she was in hospital for a while as the bruises were deep purple. At least she had no broken bones…_

They had reached the cars and went in, being delivered back to the palace for some rest.

**From Motoko's eyes**

Things began to change from that day forth. Naru withdrew from us, especially Kanako, she didn't speak to her once unless Kanako asked her directly. Even then it was at mealtimes, when she wanted her to pass some food. We weren't sure of how to deal with her, Keitaro still held the burden of her dead sister on his mind, so he couldn't get close to her, for fear of hurting her more. Even Mitsune gave up, after trying her best to coax her out of her shell.

I suppose it was inevitable that some of us would need counselling. Naru was the first, due to her recent behaviour and to prevent her from snapping. It'll be a long time before she heals, the emotional wounds she suffered can't be healed by ordinary medicine.

Haruka was second into the chair. She, like Keitaro in a way, would hold herself responsible for Seta-san's Infection, and also his quick demise. However, she was an adult, and had already reached a level where the blame didn't hurt too much, though she still had doubts, her fear of commitment triggered her angry responses each time. Sara joined in on some of those sessions, and while I don't know what went on in there, Haruka came out looking much happier with the young child. Maybe having someone to look after meant that you had to settle your own problems quicker.

I have a feeling that they'll be leaving the country soon, to seek their fortunes elsewhere.

Kitsune-san is starting the first drafts for each of our stories… It will be difficult for me, speaking about everything. However, I want to rid my hands of the blood of the first person I killed… To put everything behind me…

**The palace**

**Guest quarters**

Mitsune was sitting at a desk with a notepad and dictaphone, with a brown haired girl next to her. Motoko sat opposite them, and was surprised when the girl spoke Japanese.

"Sorry, Motoko." Mitsune held out a hand to her colleague. "Meet Nabiki Tendo, she's going to be helping me edit and promote the book."

"Nice to meet you Motoko-san." She held out a hand, Motoko shook it in reply. "Hmm… You're definitely a swordswoman… I've heard a lot about you from Mitsune."

"How could you tell?" Motoko wasn't wearing her kendo outfit any more, nor did she carry about her swords.

Nabiki held up her hand and grinned knowingly. "I felt calluses, meaning you practise almost every day, much like a certain stupid man I knew once."

Motoko narrowed her eyes.

"Not that I think that about you…" Nabiki looked down. "I know a little of what you lot went through, and I want to make sure the world hears about it…"

"If you don't mind my asking, how did Kitsune-san find you?"

"Well, it was more the other way round…" Nabiki recalled the past. "A group of us escaped from Nerima, losing… some people… on the way. I don't have many contacts outside Japan, but I was lucky that someone owed me a favour, someone in Molmol." She leaned back and shrugged. "The rest was easy, I was informed that the famous survivors were living in the palace, and that they were about to write a book, so naturally I wanted to help."

Motoko could tell the glint in her eyes was similar to Mitsune at times. "Let me guess, 30 is yours?"

Nabiki chuckled to herself. "No…" She stopped and looked serious, thinking about her own experiences. "My fee is only 5, because I have a large debt to pay off to someone close to me…"

Mitsune also bore the same expression as she clicked her ball point pen and prepared the tape recorder.

"Okay Motoko." Mitsune started, her eyes possessing the same haunted look that began to mirror her own. "We're going to start from where you were at the time of the first cases being reported, leading up to Hinata-sou, then wherever you went until you met me. I'll stop to ask you questions of specific points, but I'm not going to press you." She twirled the pen in her fingers. "I'll then ask for your own feelings once we all travelled together, if there were any moments you felt strongly about anything, including Kyoto…"

Mitsune's eyes were open and rather watery, but held them in. "Ah, almost forgot…" She pulled out a super deluxe size of tissue paper and placed it on the table. "We'll probably need this too…"

Motoko nodded, her eyes prickling a little as she began.

**Two hours later**

The pack was half full, as all three girls were blowing their noses.

"I… I think that'll be enough for today, Motoko." Nabiki had gotten to know more about the warrior than most people close to her, hence the lack of suffix. "We'll ask you for more stories later."

Mitsune nodded too, her eyes red. "We haven't even left Tokyo yet… I didn't know what you did all that time!"

"I just did what was enough to survive." Motoko sniffed, recalling the story of her sister brought back fresh tears.

Nabiki shook her head. "You did more than that, you risked your life to save Keitaro… He must be very special to you…"

Motoko paused, and then relaxed. "Yes, he is…"

Mitsune was only take aback slightly. She noticed the two of them getting closer, without Naru vying for his attention so much, she saw them together often, even if it was just talking.

"If you don't mind, I'll take my leave now." Motoko stood up.

"Thank you… I know it can't be easy…"

Nabiki held out a hand, then withdrew it, instead choosing to pull the taller girl into a light hug. Mitsune joined in too, unsure as to why, but she felt like it.

_The Japanese have been wiped off the planet, all that remains is us. _

They pulled out of the hug, and all looked embarrassed. "I hope you'll stay around for a bit after you get the book published…" Motoko said unexpectedly.

Nabiki wiped her wet eyes. "I… I'd like that."

Smiling once, Motoko walked out of the room as Nabiki and Mitsune looked over the notes, starting to discuss the story.

**Meanwhile**

**Elsewhere in the palace**

Motoko could never get used to the luxury, the walls were shiny, as if they were cleaned each day, the floors were sparkling, and guards were always in sight of one another. They always bowed to any of the guests, a sign of respect, Motoko had grown used to it, but always acknowledged them.

She walked into the kitchens, a place where she isn't supposed to go as her meals were always provided for, however, she knew that there was someone there.

"How are you Shinobu?"

"Eep!" She yelped, forcing Motoko to lunge and catch the pot she was holding.

"Sorry for scaring you…" She looked into the whisked area. "What are you making?"

"Well… It's your birthday tomorrow, so I thought…"

"Thank you…"

_Auuu, she's going to say that there's no need since she's a warrior…_

"I'd like a kind of fruit cake, if it's not too much trouble, it has been a long while since I had some."

The young girl's face lit up. "O… Okay! I'll put lots of nice ingredients in…" She looked around the kitchen. "It's really nice here… The kitchen is so huge, but they won't let me cook…"

Seeing the tenseness, tight grip of the whisk and her uncertainty, Motoko asked.

"What's wrong Shinobu?"

"N… Nothing." She waved her hands about, but turned away and let her shoulders slump. "Suu… Suu wants me to stay here… She asked her parents to adopt me!"

Motoko was surprised, but smiled gently. "So you want to leave here then?"

"No, not really…" She continued mixing the ingredients. "Her family is nice, and I really like Suu…"

"So what's the problem?"

"Being adopted is too much… I…" She shook a little, and Motoko knew that she was about to cry.

"Did you speak to Kitsune-san yet?"

Shinobu nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"Do you feel guilty about your parents?"

"M… Maybe…" She looked up, her eyes desperate. "Am… Am I a bad girl if I forget my parents when I get adopted?" Her plea was heartfelt.

Motoko patted her head gently, stroking the deep blue strands. "No, because you will never forget your parents, just I will never forget my sister, and Keitaro his own parents… The same as with all of us. You're lucky that someone loves you enough to want to be your lawful sister for the rest of your days." She wiped the tears on Shinobu away with one hand. "What do you want to do?"

"I… I want my parents… But…" She looked up, speaking firmly. "They died so I could live."

"So?" Motoko prodded, knowing what the answer would be.

"I want to be adopted…" She cried again. "I have no more family, I'd be all alone without Suu and everyone." She hugged Motoko.

"Tell Suu, and soon you'll have a real family, I'm sure they'll take great care of you."

Shinobu smiled, her rosy cheeks imitating Suu's for a moment, before nodding happily. "I'll do that now!"

Running off, her dark mood completely lifted, she ran off to find her new sister.

Motoko stepped out back into the gardens, then into a fortified base which was not dissimilar to an aircraft hangar. The guards, having recognised her, moved away and let her in, bowing as she went by. Swiping a card that Suu gave her, she walked into the inner corridor, waited for the door behind her to close, then entered the central chamber, hearing the sounds of sword swinging.

Panting, the person stopped and turned to see who came in.

"Hi Motoko-chan!" Keitaro sounded pleased, rubbing a towel across his sweaty forehead. "Ready for training?"

"Yes." She got dressed in a gi and hakama of her old colours, Keitaro already wearing the same. "Remember what I taught you?"

"Yes, sensei." He bowed slightly.

Since arriving, Keitaro asked Motoko to make him stronger, while the blade gave him untold powers and techniques, he had neither the stamina nor necessary muscle to use them without tiring out after ten minutes. The one thing he had going for him was his immortality and ability to heal relatively quickly.

"Okay, show me your strokes." She stood there, arms folded as he held his bokken with two hands, stepping forwards and striking thin air, stepping back and doing the same thing. He carried on for another minute until Motoko spoke again. "Very good, you seem to have gotten the hang of it finally. How are you holding up?"

He breathed out and smiled. "I'm feeling a lot healthier, it's not so hard to breathe as before, and I feel fitter."

Motoko gave a small smirk. "Maybe it's about time we spar, with the real thing."

Keitaro stared back in shock. "A… Are you sure? I… I'm not –"

"You've gotten a better feel for your ki, though you haven't quite learned the basics, you should be able to force some control over the soul that resides in the blade."

"O… Okay then…"

"Try not to hold back…" Motoko followed him to the wall. "Suu built this place for us, the walls are made to withstand a lot…"

Placing a palm on the panel, a door slid open and, wrapped in chains, extended the Hina Blade. It appeared to be shaking slightly as Keitaro put his hand on the hilt, removing the bindings slowly. He placed the sheath on his side and pulled it out, the metal still shining back at him as if it was new. Sensing the ki within it threatening to capture his being again, he closed his eyes and concentrated, then relaxed once it retreated.

Motoko waiting till he dropped the chain in the doorway, then placed her palm, as he did, on the hand scanner. Her two katanas came out on their ceremonial holders. Placing both of them on her belt, she drew both of them, the bells tingling as she did. The opening closed automatically.

Moving to the centre of the huge area, they stood away from each other, grinning with anticipation. Motoko spoke first.

"Show me what you've got, Keitaro." She adopted a two sword style stance.

"I'll try." He smiled back, and posed in an aggressive position of his own.

Fire swirled about on his blade, licking his hand, as the wind and electricity crackled around her swords. Running at each other, they yelled.

The swords all met in the middle, the powers colliding and creating an air shockwave. Motoko ground her teeth as Keitaro tried to push forwards. Knowing his weak spot, she twisted and kicked him in the legs, forcing him back.

"You never take care of your footing, Keitaro." She lectured, summoning wind around her. "That's always been your problem."

Keitaro laughed nervously. "Maybe that's why I'm clumsy…" Forcing his ki into the blade, he generated a fiery lance.

Again, they parried and attacked each other, Motoko constantly getting the upper hand on him as he tried to withstand her onslaught. The sounds of someone walking up to them made them pause. Turning, they saw Kanako without her gravity suit, wearing light, manoeuvrable clothing, with arm guards and black gloves.

"Is it okay if I join you?" Her red eyes pleaded. "I… I won't lose myself…"

Motoko lowered her swords. "You've maintained your sanity for two weeks now. 'That' side of you might never appear again, and you're even using it to your advantage, to unleash your power and tapping in to your evolved eyesight." She nodded. "Anything goes here, fight me or Keitaro, but no lethal blows."

Kanako nodded and crouched down, tensing her cruciate ligaments for sudden movement. Her fists glowed black and red.

Making the first move, Keitaro threw out his fire arrows at Motoko, who responded with a wall of wind, blowing them out, only have Kanako dive through to try to hit her. Knowing that she would do this, Motoko jumped high in the air, using her wind to her advantage, sending down mild lightning at the girl.

Flicking into heat and movement sight, Kanako barely got away from the bolts, before rolling into Keitaro and punching the flat side of his blade. He smiled at her, igniting it for a second, burning her gloves slightly.

"Zan Kuu Sen!"

They looked up at the ball of wind headed straight for them, and were about to dodge before it exploded, a blue laser piercing it. Confused, as Motoko landed lightly on her feet, they all stared at the entrance.

There they saw the rest of the crew, Suu pouting with her beam gun.

"You left me out…" She pulled out another one from behind her back. "I'll get you for that!"

Sara picked up one of the metal training dummies. "I still have to pay you back for back for trying to spank me!"

Haruka sighed, not wanting to bring her guns out here. Sara looked up at her, unsure of how she felt. Her guardian mellowed. "Go and play then, have fun." She smiled down at her.

Looking to her mischievous friend, Sara nodded. "Hit Keitaro!"

"I was going to!" Suu grinned, as they both ran in.

"I'm going to protect oniichan!" Kanako cried out, but her anger was tinted with humorous eyes, and a joking manner.

Shinobu watched from the sidelines. "Auu… Suu… Oneechan, sempai, be careful…"

Naru was behind her, gazing at the scene with listless eyes, the spark once in it no longer there. Watching them all cry out in fake pain and cries of pervert and laughter brought some of it back. She smiled.

Mitsune held her friend's shoulder. "You'll be fine Naru, we all will."

Nabiki was there too, staring in amazement. _My, how nostalgic… _

Soon, everyone was laughing out loud. Each of the combatants were grinning and enjoying themselves, while firing their guns, throwing inanimate objects, punching, kicking, slashing and sending waves of fire, wind and lightning everywhere. The spectators began to cheer them on, regardless of their own personal problems, tears of joy and laughter spreading through them, faster than any Infection.

The view panned away from the audience, moving through to the outside, where the guards suppressed grins of their own as they heard sounds of battle and laughter from inside.

In the end, they accidentally found the only way to beat anger, hatred, and enmity. It wasn't some miracle cure that was concocted in a secret lab.

Simply put, it was the simple acts of laughter, friendship and love, one which they shared for their years to come…

**---**

**Author's Notes**

Torii – The red gate you see at many shrines, look it up on Wikipedia.

Butsudan – A small shrine to the dead that Japanese people often have in their homes, I made a larger one for the purposes of the story.

Finally, the real ending of the story. I tried to recreate what happened to the world afterwards, and I think I made it believable that people would try to cash in on it. The reporters are all real people, to give it that authentic feel I thought would bring it back to reality.

Yes, Nabiki Tendo, from Ranma ½, is in this story, but I haven't given her much space, so don't consider it a crossover (though I'm having horrible thoughts of doing a spin off of her short story for the Ranma section).

I included a joke from the famous UK series 'Goodness Gracious Me', when Suu asked the reporter to call her 'Her Maharajasness'. That episode was hilarious, and I thought I should try to repeat it here.

I'm also trying to create some fanart of this series, having already done the 'poster', I have some images that I manipulated in Photoshop, namely a great close up of a darkened Kanako standing on the burning balcony in Kyoto. I also have an image of her in the suit I mentioned in this chapter. I'll be posting them on my site in a few days, as I'd like to get some more done. Please note that I am not an artist, the only things I can draw are guns, swords and other weapons. People I can't even begin with…

And in case any of you are confused at my writing style, where it says 'From Motoko's Eyes', it's first person as she talks about what happened, as a narrator in a way.

Deleted scenes and alternate endings are in my head, however, I'm going to dedicate more time to my other projects, so don't expect them any time soon.

Once again, hope you enjoyed the story, I certainly did. Till the next time!

- Jason


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